


Awakening the Storm

by cakeengland, Night_StormCaptain



Series: Legends of the Skyways [2]
Category: Pirate101 (Video Game)
Genre: Collab, F/F, and less implicit later on, but saying who because spoilers, if it says fifteen out of sixteen chapters, ignore it, implicit gayness again, there is a relationship as the things imply, there's sixteen posted and Ao3 is weird, things pick up MUUUCH quicker
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-29
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2018-08-27 19:59:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 34,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8414734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cakeengland/pseuds/cakeengland, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Night_StormCaptain/pseuds/Night_StormCaptain
Summary: Hannah and Destiny have found and rescued Marissa, but the Iron Dove’s mind is gone — she never seems to know where she is, and she certainly isn’t ready to trust or help anyone.  Worse, they have no way of finding out where Holly is; all they know is that she is under a curse.  With enemies and mysteries getting in the way and an enigmatic magic user trying to stop them at every turn, will the witchdoctors be able to restore their friends to the legends they once were?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> WE'RE BACK, BABY.
> 
> ...Okay, that was overdramatic. But point is, WE ARE BACK WITH OUR SEQUEL. Night wrote this chapter. Full permission to post. Collab. Same as last time.

Sunny Hannah Silver was  _ not  _ living up to her title.  For three weeks (though it felt more like years) she and her companions had been holed up in the boarding house in Avery’s Court, healing and planning — or in other words, doing nothing except arguing.  Hazel and Haley had nearly come to blows on several occasions, and Hannah was about ready to do the same — it didn’t matter with whom.  It was in this mindset that she threw open the door to her room and stormed past a very surprised Destiny who seemed to have been standing right outside.

Dashing Destiny Donnely, though a year younger than Hannah and a fairly recent acquaintance, was nevertheless Hannah’s closest friend, and seemed flabbergasted when her fellow witchdoctor stomped past her without even glancing her way.  “What’s wrong, Hannah?”

Hannah glanced back but continued walking.  “I’m fed up with waiting.”

Destiny scrambled to catch up with her.  “So you’re just leaving?”

“I never said that.  Besides, where would I go?”

“But then where are you going?”

Hannah let out an exasperated huff.  “I need some air, okay?  I’m going up Skull Mountain to try and actually get something done.  Come if you want, or I guess you can stay here and argue with everyone else.  I don’t really care.”

“I’m coming.”  Destiny looked hurt, and Hannah softened a little.

“All right.”  The older witchdoctor quickened her pace, striding up the rope bridge that connected the main Skull Island to Skull Mountain.  Before long, the two blondes were pushing their way through trees, wading across streams, and shoving vines out of the way.

“Why in the Spiral do you want to be up here?” Destiny asked, slapping at a mosquito.

“Helps me think,” Hannah replied a little breathlessly as she scaled a large rock.

Before long, the duo broke through the trees and were met with sunlight that seemed blinding after the dimness of the jungle and an impressive view of the whole island, as well as much of the skyway, laid out before them.  The place itself was not much to look at — it was simply a secluded hollow that smelled of ash and spellcasting.

Destiny swiped at a tree with her finger, coating its tip in a layer of black soot.  “Is this where…”

“Yep,” Hannah confirmed before Destiny could finish her sentence.  “Where I tried to summon Holly.”

Destiny fell silent, and Hannah walked out away from the forest to the precipice on the other edge of the hollow, careful not to fall as it was also the edge of the island itself.  “I just wish I knew where she was,” she murmured to herself, gazing at the horizon.

“Have you tried that listening spell?”

Hannah nodded slowly.  “No luck.  I haven’t been able to reach her.”

“What about a location spell?” Destiny suggested.

Hannah turned.  “Do you know any?”

A little smile lit Destiny’s features, and her blue eyes gleamed.  “Yes, actually.  I went to Madame Vadima this morning and asked her to teach me a few.  That’s what I was coming to talk to you about before you snapped at me.”

Slight heat rose to color Hannah’s face.  “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Destiny assured her.  “Do you want me to show them to you?”

Hannah nodded, and her friend drew her staff from her back.  “So, this first one is called Allsight.  It basically gives you a view of the whole Spiral, and if you picture a certain person or thing, it should give you a close-up picture of that person or thing and help you find where it is, though it’s hard to keep up for very long.  Watch.”

Planting her staff in the ground, Destiny turned away from the shaft of vine-carved wood and began a fairly basic spell chant.  Hannah listened carefully to the incantation so she’d be able to repeat it and watched as Destiny spun around and stomped her left foot with the last word of the chant.  Nothing seemed to happen.

Instead of saying anything or trying again, Destiny pushed an errant strand of honey-colored hair from her face and stared intently at the top of her staff.  After a moment of this, she smiled and said, “Now you try it.”

Understanding dawned on Hannah.  “So only the caster can see the Spiral?”

“Right,” the younger girl confirmed.  “Go on, give it a try!”

Dubiously, Hannah pulled out her own staff, a length of polished wood with several bones tied fancifully at the top, and planted it in the ground the way Destiny had, repeating the words of the spell.  As she spoke, her vision began to grow dark, and was completely black by the time she spun and stomped.  A second after she finished, her vision cleared, only now instead of the hollow at the top of Skull Mountain, she could see as if from a distance the entire Spiral spread out beneath her.

As Destiny had instructed, Hannah summoned to mind an image of Stormy Holly Everret, picturing an unusually tall girl with long black hair, intense blue eyes, and a pair of wickedly sharp daggers.  At this, her vision swooped, making her stomach drop as her sight rushed rapidly inward toward the Spiral.  Just as suddenly, her sight went black again, and all the breath rushed out of her, forcing her to her knees.

Destiny cried out in surprise.  “Hannah!  Are you all right?”

Gasping for air, Hannah blinked to clear her vision and found that the spell’s effect was gone — rather than the Spiral, she could see her best friend looking down at her anxiously.  “Think… I’ll be fine,” she panted, trying to draw in enough breath to make her lungs stop burning.

“What just happened?”  Destiny extended a hand, and Hannah gratefully took it and clambered to her feet.

Hannah shook her head in bewilderment.  “I don’t know.  The spell was working fine, but when I envisioned Holly like you said, everything went black and I got the wind knocked out of me.”

She swayed a bit, still light-headed, and Destiny reached out a hand to steady her.  “That makes no sense.  I know you did everything right.”

“Like I said, I could see the whole Spiral, but when I tried to focus on Holly, it backfired on me.”

Destiny shrugged.  “Well, maybe we could try a different spell.  Seeking Stone isn’t as precise as Allsight, but it should be more reliable.”

“How come I’ve never heard of these?” Hannah complained.

In response, the younger witchdoctor grinned at her.  “Do you want to find your friend or not?”

Hannah let out a soft chuckle.  “Yes.  Fine.  How does it work?”

“You pick a small object you can carry, like a stone.”  She bent and picked up a fist-sized rock, then continued.  “You say the incantation, followed by the name of the person or thing you want to find, then tap the stone with your staff.”  She sang a high, lilting spell poem, then said, “Hannah Silver!” and tapped the stone with the end of her staff.  The stone began to glow blue.  “Once you’ve done that, the stone will glow if you’re going in the right direction, and the closer you are, the brighter it will glow.”  To demonstrate, Destiny turned away from Hannah, and the stone immediately reverted to dull grey.

“Seems simple enough.”  Hannah repeated the process Destiny had demonstrated, enjoying the rhythm of the incantation.  The stone retained its grey color, so she began to turn slowly to try and find the right direction.  When she had made it a little less than halfway around, the stone suddenly grew very hot, glowing bright red.  Hannah yelped in surprise and dropped it — fortunately for her.  Moments before it could hit the ground, it exploded, blasting both girls’ feet and lower legs with stinging shards.

Destiny shrieked in pain.  For the second time in as many minutes, Hannah dropped to the ground, this time to try and pick out the chips of rock that had embedded themselves in her shins, wincing each time she removed one.  “Here’s a thought: let’s  _ not  _ try that again.”

Destiny crouched beside her, removing her left boot and shaking out a slightly larger bit of stone.  “I don’t understand it.  At least one of those spells should have worked!  Unless…”  She trailed off, looking thoughtful.

“Unless what?” Hannah prompted.

“Someone might not  _ want  _ us to find her,” Destiny replied cryptically.

Hannah nodded thoughtfully.  “If she’s spell blocked, there might be a way around it, or at least a way to find out for sure.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” the younger witchdoctor agreed.

Hannah’s mind whirled.  “I know a spell that lets me detect whether a thing or person is enchanted.  It might not work at a distance, but I can try.”

“Go ahead, if you think it will help,” Destiny encouraged.

Hannah gave a brief nod and passed her staff from hand to hand close to her face.  Turning slowly in a circle, she held her staff vertically at arm’s length in front of her and quickly chanted the spell, closing her eyes for focus.  She felt her power building and the spell beginning to work, but it was like running uphill.  She took a deep breath, pushing her power out and into her staff as fast as she could summon it.  Even through her eyelids, she could see the brightness of her staff’s glow, waiting to be used, but she couldn’t push it over the edge.

Hannah’s breathing grew ragged as she tried to accumulate enough power.  She was very close to reaching her limit, but she couldn’t stop now -- if she let go, that much power might backfire and fry her.  Her arm began to shake, and her staff grew warm in her hand — never a good sign.  She distantly heard Destiny shouting something but couldn’t comprehend what it was.  “Help,” she whispered through gritted teeth, barely able to get the word out.

A hand closed around Hannah’s staff, just above and slightly overlapping her own.  She gasped involuntarily as a tingle ran down her spine, magic like she’d never felt before flowing through her, strengthening her.  Her power stabilized, and she gave a final push, this time with the power of two witchdoctors.  She breathed a sigh of relief as she felt the spell take effect.

The way the enchantment worked, Hannah instinctively knew what spells, if any, were cast on the subject, and because of the extra power, it had worked across a vast distance.  Sure enough, there was indeed a spell block on her friend preventing seeing and finding spells from working on her.  More troubling, though, was the other spell that had been cast on the Storm Captain.

Hannah ended the spell and opened her eyes.  “She’s under a sleeping curse.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter.

“A sleeping curse?” Destiny repeated in disbelief. “That’s pretty powerful stuff. I know I wouldn’t be able to do that — and I doubt you would either.” Hannah nodded in agreement. “In fact, the only witchdoctor I can think of that might be able to do that is Madame Vadima.”

“So we know that whoever cast the spell is pretty powerful,” Hannah said, looking thoughtful as she gazed off the island. After a few moments of this, she appeared to get an idea. Turning to her fellow witchdoctor, she explained, “You said Madame Vadima would probably be able to cast a sleeping curse — with that in mind, wouldn’t she know how to break one?”

Destiny lit up at the suggestion, beaming at the taller blonde. “That’s brilliant, Hannah! Come on, let’s go ask her.” Without hesitating or even waiting for an answer, the young teen began to make her way back to Avery’s Court. When she arrived at Vadima’s sanctum, Hannah was not far behind her.

Pushing aside the silk curtains, Destiny immediately felt a pang of disappointment. The purple-haired trainer was nowhere to be found. Spotting a note sitting on the table, the blonde made her way over and scanned it.

“Looks like Madame Vadima’s going to be out until past sundown,” she informed Hannah, placing the note back on the table in case any other witchdoctors came by. “What are we supposed to do no-” She noticed the rows of books that lined the room out of the corner of her eye. Following her gaze, Hannah caught on.

“I’ll get the others,” she said, starting to make her way back towards the entrance. “There are too many books for us to search by ourselves.”

“Good idea,” Destiny agreed, pulling a book that looked promising off the shelf. It was heavy, bound in black leather, and faded gold lettering on the cover read  _ One Hundred and One Curses. _

She flicked through the pages, keeping an eye out for anything that might detail sleeping curses. She found nothing, and a few minutes later, Hannah returned with Hazel, Haley and Harmony. They appeared to have already been briefed on the situation, as they made their way over to the shelves without any sort of explanation. A quiet determination was shared throughout all the occupants of the sanctum.

After about two hours of this, Haley’s sharp tone cut the silence like a sword through water. “There’s nothing here.”

Hazel shot a glare at Haley. “You’re just giving up?  Everything here seems to be on casting spells rather than ending them, but I’d bet there’s something useful somewhere in Valeria’s library.”

Harmony perked up. “Hey, yeah, that’s a good idea! Sis has books on anything and everything- even things I’ve never heard of before! If anyone will have books about ending sleeping curses, it would be her. I mean, she even has a book on the different kinds of toxic butterflies found throughout the Spiral.”

“What?” Hannah wore a look of confusion. “Why would anyone want a book on that?”

“I didn’t even know there  _ were _ toxic butterflies,” Destiny commented.

“Neither did I,” replied Harmony cheerfully, getting to her feet and shelving the book that had been resting on her lap. “But it’s sis- I’ve learned to just not question it.”

Destiny chuckled quietly.  _ Yeah, sounds like Valeria.  _ She also put her book away, dusting off her clothes absently. “Harmony, would Valeria let us into her precious library?”

Harmony considered for a moment. “Not Haley, but the rest of you, I think so.”

“Hey!”

Hazel ignored Haley’s indignant exclamation. “Well, why are we standing around wasting time? Let’s go!”

The group agreed with that suggestion. Fortunately, the Holystone house was just across from the sanctum, so walking did not take long. Harmony pushed the door open without knocking- immediately, an acidic smell tickled Destiny’s nostrils, making her want to retch.

“What is that?” she asked, wrinkling her nose (the others showed similar signs of disgust). Stepping into the room, she noticed Valeria tending to several bubbling, frothing flasks of liquid. They were of various different colours- one was a bluish-purple, another a lime green, and the last a pale pink. They seemed to be the source of the smell.

“If you had knocked, I would have been able to stopper them,” Valeria answered without looking up, “so it’s no one’s fault but your own you had to smell them. I’m trying to create an acid that’ll chew through even enchanted materials. Chemistry is my hobby.”

“Speaking of enchanted stuff, we’re looking for a book that can tell us how to break a sleeping curse,” Harmony chirped, seemingly impervious to the smell. “You’ve got one, right?”

Valeria sighed and grumbled something under her breath. “Yes, I do. You guys can come with me to get it- except for the privateer.” Her eyes flicked up at Haley, and they were like daggers. Haley opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, the brunette added, “I’ve heard about your temper, and I don’t trust you around my books. Some of them could fall apart with the slightest touch.”

She clearly made no effort to understand the other’s grumbled reply as she stoppered the flasks, heading towards the stairs that led up to the library. Harmony followed, humming a little tune, and shortly after, the others did the same.

Emerging into the library, Destiny’s eyes widened. She had known Valeria’s collection of books was expansive, of course, but she had vastly underestimated how much so. Shelves lined every inch of the room, books completely filling every space. She wondered how Valeria navigated this place.

Even as she had the thought, the tall swashbuckler was striding in a direction. The small group followed, a little squashed as the corridors were rather narrow. As they were approaching one of the shelves, a cloud of black smoke appeared out of nowhere with a strange, bell-like tinkle. Valeria jumped back, settling into a stance with her hand on the hilt of her rapier.

The smoke cleared, revealing a female figure. Destiny’s first impression was that she was quite beautiful- aside from the malicious intent that oozed off her like water. Brownish-black eyes surveyed the group, sending a chill down Destiny’s spine with their piercing nature. Every feature of her face was sharply angled, lending to the overall intimidation factor.

She raised a pale hand to sweep some stray locks of raven-black hair out of her vision, and the blonde witchdoctor noticed just how long her hair was- it fell neatly to just above her ankles. A hair clip in the shape of a skull held it in place. She wore what looked to be white robes with elaborate designs on it in black. Destiny felt one of the designs resembled a dragon.

“Who are you?” Valeria demanded, ice in her tone.

The figure raised a hand in a motion for silence, directing her gaze to the bookshelf. A tense wariness hung over the group, and Valeria looked a moment’s away from attacking.

“Here, it is.” The voice that emitted from the girl was a complete monotone, without any sense of emotion at all. The words were also broken, riddled with unnecessary pauses. In the blink of an eye, she had swiped a book from the shelf.

“Hey, let go of that!” Valeria shouted angrily, starting forwards, but the girl made a motion with her hand. A chill swept over the group, and Destiny was rooted in place as an unexplainable terror crawled up her spine.  _ A fear spell? _

“My name, is Ash.” She studied the book she held in her hands for a moment. “My, mistress, is quite, impressed, with how, you, managed to, break, through her spell. However, that is, as far, as you, will go.” She finally looked back at the group. “My mistress, has instructed, no one, should break, her curse. Thus, it is, my sole duty, to prevent, you from knowing, how to, break it.”

There was another strange chime and a cloud of black smoke — immediately, Destiny found herself able to move again. “Magic. She definitely had magic!”

“Can we worry about that later?” Hazel asked. “We have to get that book back!”

The group agreed with this statement and, as one, rushed outside.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by Night.

Bursting through the door of the Holystone house, Hannah glanced around Avery’s Court in search of the stranger.  “She can’t have gone far.  Teleportation has its limits, especially in a world as non-magical as Skull Island.  If we’re quick, I think we can catch her.”

Harmony looked confused.  “Couldn’t she just teleport in short bursts all the way to wherever she’s going?”

Hannah tried not to be impatient, as what she knew wasn’t exactly common knowledge for pirates.  “It takes a lot of energy for a wizard to teleport, so it usually takes a few minutes before they can do it again.”

Destiny and Valeria spoke at the same time.  “You think she’s a wizard?” Destiny exclaimed.

“How do you know all this?” Valeria asked, sounding more curious than incredulous.

Hannah spoke quickly, words practically tumbling from her mouth.  “Only a wizard would be able to teleport like that, and anyway, I recognized the chiming sound.  Valeria, I know all this because I was raised in Krokotopia and wanted to be a wizard.  But that’s all beside the point — if we stand here chatting, we’re going to lose her!”

“Think we should split up?” Hazel asked, eyeing the different ways out of Avery’s Court.

“Definitely.”  Hannah quickly scanned the group.  “Hazel, Haley, you two head for the docks.  Harmony, Valeria, Skull Mountain.  Des, you’re with me; we’ll search the hills.  Hurry!”

Valeria looked offended at being ordered around, and neither Hazel nor Haley looked pleased with the partner they had been assigned, but under the circumstances, there was no time to argue.  Each pair sprinted off in the direction Hannah had ordered, searching for the thief — Ash, or whatever her name really was.

Hannah figured that she would have disliked Ash even if she wasn’t working for Holly’s captor.  Something in her dark eyes made Hannah’s skin crawl, and she didn’t like the way that Destiny had looked at her, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on why.  All she knew was that she wasn’t going to let the wizard get away with the book they needed.

As Hannah and Destiny dashed past the waterfall just behind the last row of shops, the swift padding sound of footsteps running across a sandy area reached their ears.  The pair glanced at each other and ran in the direction of the sound, nearly crashing into their quarry as she rounded a bend toward them.  There was a moment of startled silence; then Ash spun her staff, and a symbol appeared in the air in black: a spiral with a slashed-through box on the bottom, the symbol of necromancy.  She struck the symbol with her staff, and with a discordant tone, it exploded, and a skeletal pirate rose from the ground, brandishing a sword.

As the two witchdoctors turned to confront the new threat, a familiar chime sounded; when Hannah glanced over, Ash was gone, leaving only a bit of smoke.  Meanwhile, the skeleton attacked, swinging its sword viciously for something without muscle.  Hannah parried the attack with her staff, blocking and ducking in an attempt to protect herself, never getting the chance to cast a spell or even focus enough to summon power.  Her whole world a whirlwind of blocking, spinning, dodging, and occasional pain as the skeleton’s sword slipped through her guard, until suddenly, a host of glowing green spirits flew through the skeleton, wailing all the while, and he collapsed into a pile of bones.

Hannah stumbled back, gasping for breath.  She was covered in little nicks and scratches, and her red-and-yellow tunic was torn in several places, but at least she was alive.  As soon as she had her breath back, she turned to Destiny.  “Thanks.”

“No problem.”  Destiny looked smug, but was that a trace of a blush in her cheeks?  Hannah shook off the thought.

“We need to figure out where she went,” said Hannah urgently, returning to the problem at hand. 

“Wrong,” countered a voice behind them.  Hannah and Destiny whirled to see Valeria striding toward them, followed by a somewhat resigned-looking Harmony.  “You make a skillful captain, but did you really think your plan through?  If Ash can only teleport short distances, she can’t leave the island that way.  Therefore, she’ll be headed for the docks.  That’s where we’ll catch her.”

Hannah stared.  “You’re right.  I guess I didn’t think about that.”

Harmony bounced slightly.  “If we’re going to the docks, can’t we just _go?”_

Hannah opened her mouth to respond, but Harmony was already gone, dashing in the direction of the docks.  Valeria rolled her eyes at her sister and followed suit, followed closely by the other two.  As they neared their destination, they heard a commotion up ahead.  Shouts and gunshots rang out, as well as the distinctive rattle of fighting skeletons and other, more unnerving sounds.  A battle raged at the top of the stairs that would lead down to the piers.

“Glad you could join us!” Hazel called, her Marleybone accent distinct even at a distance.  As they drew closer, she continued while still firing at a small host of undead.  “She ran down here a little bit ago, summoned this lot, and teleported away, but I think she’ll be back.  Mind giving us a hand?”

Hannah, Destiny, and the Holystone twins threw themselves into the fray with a will.  After the fight with the skeleton, Hannah was braced for the worst, but apparently Ash had been in a hurry; though there were a lot of foes, they were mostly ghouls, with a few banshees interspersed, so the six relatively skilled pirates were able to dispatch them with minimal trouble.

Once the undead were gone, by unspoken agreement, the group headed down the steps and out onto the boardwalk that connected the docks.  Just then, there was a chiming noise behind them (Hannah was beginning to hate that sound).  “Isn’t this, friendly?” said Ash, and even with her flat voice the sarcasm was obvious.  “The whole, gang is, here.  It’s, cute, that you, think, you can, defeat me.”

The pirates flared out, surrounding their foe.  “You might as well just give my book back,” Valeria said icily.  Hannah raised her staff threateningly, and the others followed suit with their own weapons.

Even Ash’s laugh sounded toneless.  “I don’t, think, I will,” she deadpanned.  Reaching into a pocket of her robe, she pulled out an opaque black bottle.  She popped the cork out, and a cloud of black smoke interspersed with sparks flowed out, drifting to settle beside the dock before clearing to reveal a bone-white ship with slightly ragged black sails.  Hordes of the undead swarmed across the deck, seemingly preparing the ship to set sail.  Before any of the pirates could stop gaping long enough to attack, Ash pushed between Hannah and Destiny, strode up the plank, and cast off.

 ~*~*~

 Hurtling through the Skyway in the _Bronze Garnet_ in pursuit of an enemy vessel was starting to feel commonplace to Hannah — almost monotonous, despite the intensity of the situation.  Expertly maneuvering the ship around a floating heap of boards and nails that might once have been a boat, she followed the ghost-crewed ship at top speed.  She wondered where exactly Ash was going; she didn’t seem to be heading in the direction of any Stormgates Hannah knew of.  Then again, normal seemed to have flipped upside down anyway.

 As the _Bronze Garnet_ gained on Ash’s ship, the gunners began to fire, most of their shots narrowly missing the ghost ship.  Soon they were close enough for Hannah to see that the pilot of the ship was a ghoul; Ash herself stood on the deck with her staff raised and her eyes tightly shut — Hannah found out why when the sky seemed to go black.  An unnatural moon appeared, and a ghastly woman with black-feathered wings swooped overhead.  A flap of her wings rained what seemed to be pure death magic down on the ship, beginning to eat through the boards and causing the ship to sway erratically.

"We need to get in close!” Hannah called as the sky lightened.

Footsteps up the stairs to the poop deck.  Hannah couldn’t look, but from the dry voice, it was Haley who approached her.  “What makes you think we’re _more_ likely to be able to defeat this lunatic up close?”

Hannah spared her not-quite-a-friend a brief glance.  “Nothing.  I don’t know what we’re going to do if we ever have to face her head-on — for now, we just need that book.”

To Hannah’s surprise, Haley assented, if reluctantly.  “That… actually makes sense.  For once.  Don’t get a big head over it.”  She didn’t even try to make whatever she was grumbling audible as she stalked off.

Ash’s ship might have been large and impressive, but it was clear who was the better pilot as the _Bronze Garnet_ gained rapidly on the undead vessel.  As the distance between the two ships closed, a host of howling apparitions filled the air, but fortunately, it seemed that even Ash didn’t have the energy to repeat the spell that had been so devastating the first time she cast it.

Hannah shivered, not from fear (mostly), but from the mere deathly presence of so many hostile spirits.  A ghost flew straight through her, and she yelped at the cold tingling that filled her body as it passed.  Gritting her teeth, she tried to focus on flying and noticed Ash’s ship turning sharply into Corsair’s Channel, scraping the starboard side of her hull against the rocks.  It seemed she was getting desperate — even Hannah tried to avoid flying in the narrow channel.

She was soon reminded why she disliked it so much as she was forced to navigate her ship through the narrow, winding passage between the rocks.  Fortunately, she didn’t have to fly for long — it seemed Ash’s ghoul pilot was a clumsy flyer at best, and had already crashed into a wall.  Hannah deftly maneuvered the _Bronze Garnet_ next to the ghost ship and called for the planks to be lowered.

As Hannah, Haley, Harmony, and Valeria boarded the undead-crewed craft, followed by Hazel and Destiny, who had been belowdecks, the sky around them grew unnaturally dark once again (this time without the winged woman).  Hannah shivered apprehensively and noticed that her friends all looked pale and frightened, drawing into a huddled clump as soon as they had all boarded the death ship.

Sinister laughter rang out from the undead all around them, Ash’s laughter the loudest of all.  Hannah froze, unable even to look and see who had grabbed her arm.  The necromancer herself appeared out of the gloom with the sound of a chime and advanced slowly toward them, idly waving her horn-topped staff and grinning cruelly.  The laughter faded as she neared the cluster of frightened pirates, leaving a nasty silence.

Ash was about eight steps away from them, and Hannah’s brain whirled as she tried to think of a way to break the terror that held her paralyzed.  Seven steps away, and she attempted to summon power, but even that felt frozen.  Six steps, and she laboriously reached toward her staff.  Her fingers brushed the wood, but when Ash was five steps away, a cold breeze blew, bringing with it a fresh wave of panic.  Four steps, and a soft voice sounded behind Hannah.  “Give.”  Three steps.  “Me.”  Two steps.  “My.”  One step away.  “Book!”

The sheer force of anger in Valeria’s voice shattered the spell, and light once again returned to the surrounding sky.  Finding she could move again, Hannah whipped the staff from her back, accidentally whacking Ash on the head.  Necromancer and witchdoctor both yelped in surprise, glaring at each other for a long, awkward moment.  That moment gave the rest of Hannah’s allies an instant’s advantage, and before the fifteen-year-old broke eye contact with her foe, her friends erupted into battle with a cacophony of yells, spells, and gunshots.

Ash’s eyes narrowed, and she raised her staff, beginning to draw the necromancy symbol in the air.  Hannah slashed her own staff through the symbol, gasping in shock at the strength of her enemy’s magic as the half-formed symbol dissipated into harmless sparks with a loud fizzing noise.

A flash of green light off to Hannah’s left blinded her momentarily.  Looking over, she saw that Destiny had cast a fairly simple spell to banish spirits, and it had worked on Ash’s ghosts.  The remainder of the undead closed around the group, but as with the band of nasties that had attacked Hazel and Haley outside the docks, they were none too powerful.  Hannah’s attention was forced back to Ash when the wizard attempted another spell, but she could see in her periphery that her friends were fairly decimating the dead crew.

Hannah was ready the next time Ash tried a spell, and her staff clashed against the necromancer’s.  They stood locked in a still, silent battle of strength and willpower, but before a fair winner could be decided (so to speak), something jolted against Ash’s staff, sending Hannah reeling and knocking the staff out of the wizard’s hand.  That something turned out to be Haley, who kicked the staff out of the way.  It seemed she was finally getting back into the swing of things after her time spent in prison.

With a moment to glance around, Hannah saw that all the undead were gone and that her friends were closing in.  On Hannah’s left, Destiny bent and picked up Ash’s staff; on her right, Haley brandished her sword menacingly.  Harmony, Valeria, and Hazel closed in behind the necromancer, and looking around, a slight look of fear came into her nearly-black eyes.

The six pirates each took a step closer, and Ash’s eyes flitted between them.  She raised her arms, seemingly in surrender, but there was something in her eyes Hannah didn’t like — then an unsettling smile crept across her face, and black energy began to gather around her hands.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by me.

Seeing the black nimbus of magic curl around Ash’s hands, Destiny felt panic claw its way into her heart- their adversary could cast spells without use of her staff! It was something the witchdoctor could never dream of doing, as channeling hoodoo directly through one’s body could have permanently crippling effects- sometimes, it could even kill. That was one of Madame Vadima’s first lessons.

 _But she isn’t casting hoodoo,_ Destiny reminded herself. _She’s casting pure magic._

So shocked by the sight, the blonde couldn’t stir herself to action in time to stop the necromancer- apparently, nor could any of her allies. For a precious few seconds, her vision was consumed by a sea of pitch black. She felt Ash’s staff being tugged out of her hand, and though she tried to grasp for it, soon enough her off hand held nothing but air.

Far more concerning, however, was the bone-chilling roar that followed soon after. Destiny’s vision cleared, but this brought no relief- the first thing she saw turned her blood to ice.

Though it was made only of bone, the massive creature that loomed before them was unmistakable- its skeletal wings and quadruped structure marked it quite easily. Two balls of bright blue fire served as eyes, and Ash was nowhere to be seen.

“Please tell me that’s not what I think it is,” Harmony said uncertainly, her voice quavering. It was the first time Destiny had heard the buccaneer sound truly fearful.

“If you think it’s a dragon, then unfortunately, you would be correct,” Valeria replied grimly. Her lithe frame seemed tense, ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.

Hannah and Hazel also faced the creature with clear apprehension- but if Haley shared the same sentiment, she hid it well. As the skeletal dragon made its way towards them, talons punching holes in the deck, she faced it with a determined expression and a defiant stance.

Destiny wanted to scream at her that that was a _terrible_ idea, but she knew it would be as fruitful as telling the sun not to rise. Even if the words would have made a difference, they seemed stuck in the back of her throat, unwilling to come out.

She was proven right in mere seconds. Drawing near to the irritable privateer, the dragon raised a foot, crushing Haley as Destiny might squish a bug. As it lifted its foot again, Destiny sucked in a horrified breath, staring at the devastating result.

Blood poured from what appeared to be several locations on Haley’s body- the witchdoctor wasn’t even sure if she was still _alive._ However, she quickly had more pressing matters to deal with as the dragon turned its sights to the other five pirates.

Then, a miracle occurred.

The dragon crumbled into a pile of bones.

“What-?” Destiny breathed, unable to believe her eyes.

“Ash is gone- she must have decided it was too much energy to keep the spell going across such a large distance,” Hannah quickly explained, urgency in her tone. “Come on, we have to help Haley!”

Though neither witchdoctor really _liked_ the prickly teen, they rushed over to her side in unison. Her breathing, while still present, was dangerously shallow, and red liquid streamed from the side of her head, as well as several other wounds on her body. At least one rib was definitely cracked as well.

“Stars above,” the younger teen gasped, staring at the carnage. “It’s miraculous she’s alive.”

“We need to get her to Marissa- now,” Valeria advised, her tone somehow more serious than it usually was. “I’m well aware of her mental state, but she’s still our best chance- she brought Harmony back from the brink of death once.”

Hearing those words, Destiny longed to query the story, but knew they had no time. However, now that Harmony was mentioned, the blonde noticed the buccaneer wasn’t present. “Where _is_ Harmony?”

“And Hazel?” noticed Hannah.

“Right here.” Hazel walked into view, looking very pleased- beside her walked Harmony, the book clutched in her arms. “I had the thought she might have hidden the book in the cabin of her ship, so while you three worried over Haley, Harmony and I went to look. Turns out, I was right.”

“A good thing you looked,” Valeria commented, voicing what Destiny was thinking. “However, we need to get back to Skull Island. I think I know enough about healing to keep her alive for the time it takes, but we need to hurry.”

They made it back to the main island in record time.

~*~*~*~*~

Unlike the rest of her group, Marissa and her crew had taken to hiding out in an abandoned shack in the hillside. No one had argued the choice- it seemed a logical decision, particularly with the crew’s current state (minus the Marchioness). The five pirates sprinted there now, Harmony carrying Haley’s ragged body in her arms.

Destiny was in the lead, and she pushed open the creaky door that was the entrance to the shack, calling out Marissa’s name as she did so. As the rest of the group crowded in behind her, the ginger-haired privateer appeared from one of the side rooms, face blank, as per usual nowadays.

Harmony made her way to the front, putting Haley in clear view. “She got crushed by a skeletal dragon,” the brunette explained, worry in her tone. “We didn’t know who else to take her to- can you help her?”

Marissa simply stared at the bloodied teen for several seconds, although that too was normal- Destiny had waited for times as long as a minute to receive a response from the ginger. After what must have been a good five seconds at least, Marissa gave a stiff nod, gesturing that Harmony should place Haley on the floor. The buccaneer obliged as the older teen vanished into one of the rooms again.

She came back with what Destiny recognized as a typical kit of herbs, creams and medicines used by privateers, as well as several items such as gauze. The small group watched in silence as Marissa worked, first wetting a cloth to clean away the blood that had crusted all over Haley’s skin.

After several minutes, Destiny noticed a swirl of green light around Marissa’s hands- it reminded her of Ash’s magic. Nudging Hannah, she whispered, “Is that magic?”

The older blonde hesitated for a few seconds, but then nodded. “I think so,” she replied, equally as quiet. “It’s like what I felt back on the island- and we saw it back at the Monquistan prison, too. Life magic.”

Destiny was, unsurprisingly, confused by this information. “But how does she have life magic? Marissa isn’t a wizard, or even a witchdoctor- she’s a privateer!”

“That’s what I was wondering,” Hannah agreed. “It’s very strange. But fortunate- life magic is known to have excellent healing properties.”

Sure enough, as Destiny looked back at Haley, she found her free of injury, aside from a few small scars that would fade quickly. Marissa stood up, simply stating, “She’ll want to go easy for a while- her rib won’t agree with any strenuous activity.”

There was a chorus of thanks that the ginger acknowledged with a nod, beginning to stride away. However, as she was about to leave, Marissa paused. She seemed to think for a moment, then turned back to the group.

“There’s… something I need to tell you.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter written by Night.

Crowded into a small room in Marissa’s shack, the five teenaged pirates waited with bated breath for Marissa to continue.  When it seemed obvious that she wasn’t going to, Hannah prompted, “What do you need to tell us?”

No reply.  After another tense moment, Destiny repeated Hannah’s question, and this time, Marissa reacted, slowly reaching into her pocket and pulling out something small and shiny.  She gripped it hard, her hand shaking a little, but held it out for the others to see.  On examination, it turned out to be a small bird made of metal — a dove, maybe.  Realization hit Hannah like a cannonball – the minute token was an  _ iron dove. _

Another awkward silence.  Marissa began to look on edge, and finally, Hazel voiced what they were all thinking.  “So?”

Marissa hesitated again, then spoke.  “This is one of a pair of iron doves that are linked, and they’ve been around a lot longer than my pseudonym has.”  As she spoke, her eyes cleared ever so slightly.  Haley’s eyes flickered open, and she sat up to listen, wincing as she did so.  “The doves are attracted to one another, so as long as I have this dove, I can find the person who has its match and is bonded to it.  Years ago, before I met any of you, I gave the matching dove to a very close friend — a certain Holly Everret.”

There was an immediate uproar, the noise so loud that it seemed the little room couldn’t contain it.  Everyone was talking at once, shouting over each other until the din became nearly unbearable.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Give that to me!”

“You  _ knew  _ her?!”

“What are we waiting for?”

“Stay away from me!”

Hannah was appalled.  They’d been just sitting and waiting for so long, and Marissa had had a way to find Holly the whole time?  Her mind whirled and drifted, and she barely absorbed what was happening as Hazel launched herself at Marissa.  She heard only distantly as Destiny argued with Hazel, trying to convince her to back down.  She scarcely registered the flash of iron as her musketeer friend swiped the dove, hardly noticed the ring of steel as the crazed privateer drew her sword to retaliate, almost didn’t comprehend the flash of magic as Destiny let out a burst of her power to get everyone’s attention.   _ Why didn’t she tell us before? _

Distraught at what felt like a betrayal, Hannah backed away from the argument toward the door of the shack.  She needed time to think.

Hazel’s voice sounded from the room Hannah had just vacated.  “I’m not giving it back.  I’m going to find Holly, and I don’t need any of you slowing me down.”

“You’re not leaving to find her without me.”  That was Haley.

“Yes, I am!”  Hazel again.  “You’re a jerk, Hannah cares more about her new friends than the girl who saved all our lives, and the rest of you don’t even know Holly!”  The accusation felt like a slap in the face.   _ Is that true?  _ Hannah thought numbly.   _ Have I really stopped caring about her? _

Haley’s voice rose.  “I can’t believe you’re refusing to let me help the  _ one person  _ who has ever actually treated me like a human being!”

“Please, everybody, just calm down!”  That was Destiny.

“How, exactly, do you expect to be able to break the curse and rescue your friend without my book telling you how and someone with magic to cast the countercurse?” That had to be Valeria, as cold and calm as ever.

There was a loud  _ thump  _ and a cry of pain from Hazel.  Hannah crept back into the room to see her friend lying on the floor, a hand over the right side of her face, with Marissa standing over her, her hand still balled into a fist.  “Give.  The dove.  Back.”  The Iron Dove’s eyes darted this way and that, but the fury in her voice was unparallelled.  Hazel shook her head slightly, the hand that wasn’t on her face still clutching the token.  In response, Marissa pointed her sword at Hazel’s chest.  “ _ Now. _ ”

Hazel didn’t look happy about it, but she relinquished the minuscule iron dove.  Marissa snatched it back, tucking it deep into some pocket but not sheathing her sword.  She glared at everyone in the group.  “I  _ was  _ willing to help your quest, since I’ll remind you she’s my best friend. Now I don’t think I will.”

Silence fell once more, though this time the air was fraught with tension.  For what must have been a full minute, everyone glanced at everyone else, trying not to make eye contact.  Nobody seemed to want to break the silence.  Hannah took a deep breath, banishing the thoughts that had been nagging at her since Hazel’s accusation.  “Please?”

Marissa looked taken aback, but Hannah forced herself to continue.  “You said it yourself — she’s your best friend, though frankly I’m not sure how that’s possible.  I want to find her more than just about anything, and if you were telling the truth, I think you probably do too.  Won’t you reconsider?”

Hannah was starting to get sick of awkward silences, but it seemed that with Marissa, they were simply a fact of life.  Finally,  _ finally,  _ the ginger responded.  “Very well.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Okay, so we’ll need water from the location where the curse was cast, hair from someone close to the victim, an alarm clock, and… oh, great.  A sacred banana of Monquista.”  Hannah let out a resigned sigh as she read through the list of ingredients they’d need in order to make the potion that would supposedly awaken Holly from her curse.

Destiny rolled her eyes.  “And you’re  _ sure  _ there’s no other way?”

“Well, this is the one book Ash didn’t want us to have, so I’d say that’s pretty likely.  Sounds like we’re headed back to Monquista.”

“Have fun with that,” came Valeria’s voice from the library.  Harmony’s twin had elected not to join them, preferring to stay in her own home and read, the way she spent most of her life.

“Should we save Monquista for last?” Destiny suggested.

“I don’t think so,” Hannah argued.  “I don’t know about you, but I’d rather just get it over with.  Think Marissa will know about a sacred banana?”

“You could just ask me, you know.”  Hannah jumped; she had forgotten that Marissa was sitting on the other couch in the Holystones’ living room.  Hazel, Haley, and Harmony were over at the boarding house, getting everything packed up and ready to move to the  _ Bronze Garnet  _ so they could depart on their search.

“Okay.  What’s a sacred banana and how do we get one?”

Yet another long pause.  Marissa’s eyes wandered as she explained, “Every year, the Monquistan royalty gets the Holy Monquisition to bless a new banana.  It sits above the throne, and nobody knows how they keep it from rotting, though I have a suspicion that they replace it every so often.  I have no idea what it symbolizes, but at any rate, you’d have to sneak into the palace and steal it.”

Hannah and Destiny groaned in unison.  “The Monquistan  _ palace?”  _ Destiny moaned.  “We’ll never get in and out alive!”

“We’ll have to,” Marissa said simply, then turned and stared at the wall.  Hannah guessed (correctly) that they wouldn’t be getting any more information out of her.

~*~*~*~*~

Hannah had been hesitant to let anyone besides herself take the helm of the  _ Bronze Garnet,  _ but this meeting was of utmost importance, so Haley stood at the wheel, having declared that she was sick of listening to everyone else argue.  In truth, Hannah was as well, but she didn’t say that aloud.

“So… the royal palace of Monquista,” Hannah said a little awkwardly to get things rolling.

“The palace in Monquista,” Harmony agreed.  “We can go hang out with our least favorite monkeys.”

“That’s all of them,” Destiny interjected, eliciting a laugh from everyone in the room except Marissa, who stared off at nothing.

Hazel spoke up.  “How are we going to get in?  It’ll be hard enough to get into Monquista itself, let alone the royal palace!”

“The escape tunnel.”  Marissa’s voice was so soft Hannah almost missed it, and the privateer wore a grimace.  “Queen Eleanor told me about it in case I’d ever have to infiltrate the palace.  It lets out directly below the palace in a little hidden cove most of the way down the cliff.”

“Sounds like a start,” Hazel agreed.  She pulled a sheet of paper from somewhere and sketched what Marissa had described, and the five began to discuss various strategies for getting in and out without being noticed, and contingency plans if they were forced to fight.

Destiny pressed a scrap of paper into Hannah’s hand.  Discreetly unfolding the paper, Hannah read the following in Hazel’s distinct, untidy scrawl:  _ Meet around the wheel when we’re done here.  Don’t let Marissa see this.   _ She met Hazel’s eye and gave the tiniest of nods, then passed the note to Harmony.

Maybe half an hour later, Hannah, Destiny, Hazel, and Harmony emerged from the cabin (Marissa had stopped responding and was staring at the wall once more).  Having felt the familiar vertigo a few minutes before, Hannah was unsurprised to find that they had passed into the Stormgate.  Haley stood alone at the helm with her eyes narrowed and teeth gritted in concentration.  “Mind if I take over here?” Hannah asked, though it wasn’t really a request — she wanted her ship back.

“Go ahead,” Haley grumbled, stepping back and allowing Hannah to take the wheel.  Meanwhile, the others began filling Haley in on the plan for breaking into the Monquistan palace.

“What was that note all about, anyway?” Destiny asked once Haley was caught up.

Hazel lowered her voice.  “I don’t think Marissa should come.  In her state of mind, she’d endanger herself and the mission.”

The others nodded; it made sense.  “She’s not going to take no for an answer,” Harmony pointed out.  “But what can we do, lock her in a cell?”

Haley rolled her eyes.  “That would be  _ great  _ for earning the trust of the  _ one  _ person who can help us find Holly!”

“She has to stay behind, though,” Hazel argued.  “Any ideas?”

“Well…” Destiny started hesitantly, then stopped.

“ _ What?”   _ Hazel looked on the point of shaking Destiny, and Hannah understood — they were all sick of unnecessary pauses in the conversation.

“I mean, this might not be a very popular idea considering the circumstances, but… maybe we could give her a sleeping potion?”

“Different from a sleeping curse, right?” Hazel checked.  Destiny and Hannah nodded in unison.  “And you can make one?”

The two witchdoctors exchanged glances, then nodded again.  Then Hannah frowned.  “I figure we’ll want to have the potion ready by the time we get there, and I’ll need to be flying.  Think you can do it on your own, Des?”

Destiny looked thoughtful.  “I’m not sure… I guess I could ask Mormo for help.”

“That’d be good,” Hannah agreed.

“Anyone object to the sleeping potion idea?” Hazel asked.

“You didn’t have to beat around the bush about it,” Haley grumbled.

“That’s ‘I think it’s a good idea’ in Haley-ese,” Harmony translated.  “I agree.”

“Could I have the windstone, Haley?” Hannah asked, holding out a hand without taking her eyes off the mist lane.  In response, the irritable privateer placed the two halves of the violet windstone in Hannah’s outstretched hand.  Monquista loomed ahead, and Hannah sighed, reluctant to have to return so soon.  Cupping the halves in her hands, she blew on the stone, and vertigo overtook her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started writing this, but then lost motivation, so Night wrote most of it and I'm doing next chapter.

“Alright, now add a drop of snake blood… careful it’s not more, I don’t want to accidentally cause permanent harm to her.”  
  
“Mormo knows what he is doing,” the water-mole assured, tipping a tiny bit of red liquid into the potion, which was currently a light blue colour, interspersed with patches of white. There was a _pop_ sound, and the concoction turned completely transparent.

Destiny collected the tiny vial, stoppering it after a quick inspection. “That’s the easy part done,” she mused. “Now I have to get Marissa to drink it. I guess that’s why sleeping potions were made to be transparent… they won’t discolor any other liquid you disguise them in.”

The privateer drank a cup of coffee every morning; though it made little difference to her personality now, in the past it had meant the difference between whether she was content or about to kill someone.

Of course, it would be harder than it sounded to spike her drink, as her trust was so greatly diminished. Destiny had considered asking the Marchioness to give the ginger the potion, but had decided against it. Marissa’s first mate would never willingly drug her Captain for _any_ reason.

Eventually, Destiny decided upon casting a silver tongue spell upon herself. It wouldn’t rob Marissa of her free will -- it would simply make her words more persuasive. Reaching into a pocket, she pulled out a bit of ivory carved into an elaborate, swirling symbol, holding it flat on her open left palm. Careful to move completely silently, she touched her staff to the little totem, channeling power through it until the ivory glowed faintly purplish. Closing her hand around it, she raised the symbol and pressed it against her lips for several seconds until she felt the spell take, then tucked it back into her pocket.

Now that that was over with, Destiny made her way back to Marissa’s cabin, which the crazed legend seldom left.  Knocking on the door, she called out, “Marissa?  You in there?”

“Who is that?” came the suspicious reply.

“It’s me, Destiny.  I just wondered if you wanted your morning coffee…?”

A pause, as usual.  “I can make my own coffee.”  There was a warning in Marissa’s tone.

Destiny winced at the lie she was about to tell.  “Shouldn’t you be preparing for the mission?  I know your fighting is a little out of practice…”  She trailed off, hoping the silver tongue spell would persuade Marissa better than she alone was able.

Marissa’s hesitation this time was so long that Destiny was turning to leave before a grudging voice from within the cabin called, “Fine.  Thanks, I guess.  And don’t put any cream in it.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”  Destiny turned and headed for the galley, trying to ignore the guilt that plucked at her mind.  However she tried to justify her actions to herself, she had still used magic to trick one of her closest friends, the person she had once respected and admired more than anyone else in the Spiral.  After following this train of thought for a while, warring with herself, she found she had stopped in the middle of the corridor and was staring at nothing.

 _I can do this,_ Destiny thought to herself, pushing the doubts from her mind, though she remained ill at ease as she fixed Marissa’s coffee the way she knew the Iron Dove liked it.  Soon enough, she was back at the door of the privateer’s cabin, this time with a steaming mug of spiked coffee.  “Your coffee is ready,” she said tentatively after knocking gently on the door.  “May I come in?”

“No.”  The door banged open, and there was Marissa, her strawberry-blonde hair in disarray, her eyes even wilder than usual.  “Give me that.”

Destiny handed her friend the mug and waited for her to drink, trying not to make it look like she was waiting.  She needn’t have bothered, though; Marissa snatched the mug and downed half of the steaming beverage in one go, then stopped and narrowed her eyes at Destiny.  “What’s in this?”

“I didn’t put cream in it,” Destiny promised truthfully, writhing inside.  “I made it just the way you like it.”

Marissa glowered in response.  She swayed a bit, then suddenly dropped to the floor.  Destiny cried out in alarm and ran to her, worried she had messed up the sleeping potion somehow or made it too strong — but no.  The Iron Dove was snoozing peacefully on the floor of her cabin, looking almost like her former, beautiful self with her eyes closed and her face relaxed.  Destiny considered lifting the girl she had once loved onto her bunk, but decided against it, not wanting to risk waking her.  Instead she simply rolled Marissa over so she was all the way in her cabin, gently shut the door, and crept away, trying (and failing) to ignore the sting of shame that followed her.

~*~*~*~*~

Tierra Primata Skyway seemed more turbulent than it had been the last time they had flown through, though that might simply have been because after nearly a month away from the Skyways, Destiny was no longer accustomed to flying.  After what felt like years of lying in her cabin fighting waves of nausea as the ship rocked and heaved, it came as an immense relief when the _Bronze Garnet_ finally docked.  As soon as the motion stopped, she staggered up to the deck and emptied her stomach over the ship’s railing.

The humans (with the exception of Marissa) and Hannah’s crew gathered on the deck, and Destiny made her way over to join them, already feeling much better than she had while they were sailing.  Up at the ship’s bow, Hannah raised her staff, and the small crowd fell quiet.  “Not all of you know what is going on, so let me fill you in.  To awaken Holly, we need a sacred banana of Monquista.  That tunnel--” she gestured to the opening in the cliffside beside which they had just docked “-- leads straight up to the Monquistan palace, where the banana is kept in a place of honor above the king’s throne.  I would love to get in and out unnoticed, but in the event that someone sees us, I’ll need backup waiting in the tunnel, so I’ll need all of you -- except you, Haley.”  The privateer opened her mouth to protest, but Hannah cut her off.  “You’re not fully healed yet, and I’m sure you know you’d only endanger us all if you came.”

Haley scowled.  “Fine.”

Hannah scanned the remainder of the crew, looking thoughtful.  “If only we had a swashbuckler…”  She sighed.  “All right.  I’ll lead the stealth team; Destiny, you’re with me.  Everyone else, defer to Haz-- no, defer to Harmony.”  She leveled a glare at Hazel.  “I would like to remind everyone that this quest is a joint effort, and that if anyone would like to go off on their own… well, good luck.”

Hazel’s dark eyes glinted mutinously.  “You’re playing a dangerous game, Hannah.”

“You started it by trying to abandon your commitment.”  Hannah’s tone was calm, but her green eyes were steely, daring anyone to argue with her.  Destiny found it remarkable that her best friend could be so sweet and loyal most of the time and yet so fierce and commanding when the situation demanded it.

Hazel looked like she wanted to reply, but Destiny cut her off.  “If that’s settled, can we get started?  I’d rather not spend any more time here than we have to.”  A murmur of agreement rose from the gathered crew, leaving Hazel no opportunity to continue arguing.  With that settled, they all set off, with Destiny and Hannah in the lead.

The tunnel itself was, like everything Crown-owned in Monquista, extravagant.  The floor was paved with marble, the walls were hung with lit torches and the royal crest of Monquista, and even the air smelled slightly perfumed.  After a short straight stretch followed by a sharp bend, the tunnel turned into a steep spiral staircase, which they climbed… and climbed… and climbed… and Destiny was just starting to wonder if the stairs would keep going up forever, when suddenly they reached a trapdoor made of solid gold and emblazoned with the fleur-de-lis of bananas that represented the Monquistan Crown.

Hannah turned and addressed the group in a whisper.   _“All right, this is where most of you will wait.  With any luck, we won’t need your backup, but be ready for anything.  Everyone ready?  Good.”_

Hannah reached to push up on the trapdoor, but a thought suddenly occurred to Destiny, and she grabbed her fellow witchdoctor’s wrist.   _“Wait,”_ she whispered urgently.   _“Do we know where in the palace this opens?  It could make a difference.”_

A rapid series of facial expressions crossed Hannah’s face, too quickly for Destiny to follow.  Finally she let out a little sigh.   _“I don’t think any of us thought of that.  I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.”_ Without waiting for a reply, she pushed the trapdoor up and poked her head slightly above the frame, ducking quickly back down.   _“Guards,”_ she whispered.   _“Two of them.  I think it opens in some sort of hidden antechamber, which makes sense now that I think about it.  I don’t think they saw me.”_

Destiny gave a tense nod.  Her eyes met Hannah’s, and together they pushed the trapdoor open once more.  She thought they were being quiet, but apparently they had made some small noise, because the guards’ heads turned right as the two witchdoctors emerged from the escape tunnel.  One of the monkeys opened his mouth to holler, but Hannah was out of the trapdoor like a shot, her staff glowing as she swung it against the guard’s head.  He dropped, and the other monkey let out a yelp.  By that time, Destiny had made it through, and a quick burst of power from her own staff rendered him unconscious as well.

The smile Hannah gave Destiny was positively radiant.  Destiny returned it for a moment before breaking eye contact to examine the room.  It was a little smaller than a cabin aboard the _Bronze Garnet,_ but even more lavishly decorated than the escape tunnel, with every wall completely covered in gold, gemstones, and the Monquistan coat of arms.  It was a little overwhelming, and Destiny idly wondered if the whole palace was like that.

They had no time to think about it, however.  With the guards lying unconscious on the floor, it was only a matter of time before someone realized there had been a break-in.  The pair hurried to the door and cracked it open, peering into the room beyond unseen.  To Destiny’s surprise and delight, the room appeared to be the throne room itself, filled with columns and furnished with a plush red rug leading up to the dais on which the two thrones rested.  A large table stood in the middle of the room, looking somewhat out of place; about two dozen nobles sat around it; King Ferdinand and Queen Isadore lounged on their thrones, watching what appeared to be a conference of war.  Best of all, an ordinary-looking, slightly speckled banana sat on a gilt shelf over the thrones.

 _“Too easy,”_ Hannah whispered, gesturing toward the banana.

 _"Yes, well…”_ Destiny shook her head helplessly.   _“How do you expect to get past all those nobles without being noticed?”_

Hannah seemed to consider this.   _“I don’t,”_ she finally replied.   _“Think you can reach the banana if I create a distraction of some kind?”_

Destiny looked up at their target thoughtfully.   _“I think so,”_ she replied doubtfully.   _“You’re a little taller than I am, but I can make it work.”_

Hannah giggled.   _“You could climb up on one of the thrones.”_

 _“Stop it.”_ Destiny elbowed Hannah, stifling a laugh of her own.

 _“Right.”_ Hannah became serious once more.   _“On my signal, run for the banana.”_

Destiny nodded.   _“What’s your signal?”_

Hannah winked.   _“You’ll know.”_ Without further hesitation, the older blonde slipped through the hidden door and darted for the main entrance to the throne room.  As she ran, her staff lit up green, and she turned and pointed it at the King of Monquista.  “Everyone on the floor or your king dies!”

She certainly had their attention.  The monkeys watched, stupefied, as Hannah completed the ritual for the Ghostwail spell, sending spirits flying through King Ferdinand.  The King, it seemed, was a delicate soul, for he collapsed, unconscious, off his throne.  There was a moment of shocked silence; then, uproar.  Several of the nobles ran to revive His Majesty, while others stood and rushed Hannah.  “Seize the human interloper!” bellowed one monkey.

Hannah raised her staff into the air with a blinding flash of green light and a loud _pop!_ “Now, Destiny!” she yelled.

Destiny couldn’t have asked for a clearer signal.  She slipped through the door and made a run for the dais, slamming into a monkey and knocking him over on the way there.  As she neared the thrones, she heard one of the nobles say, “Get them to the escape tunnel!”   _Yeah, that’ll work,_ she thought sardonically with no small amount of smugness, thinking of Harmony lying in wait with all of Hannah’s crew.  As she mounted the dais, a pair of monkeys barred her path.  To her surprise, she recognized one of them — her old kidnapping buddy, Alarico Aiza.

“How did you escape?” she exclaimed.

“How did you get here?” he yelped at the same moment.

“Does it matter?”  Before he and his companion had a chance to recognize what she was doing, she had chanted the Mojo Blast spell (a more powerful variant of Mojo Strike she had learned during their break), felling both.  She had no time to check whether they had survived the strike, but she had the idea they wouldn’t be getting up again.

With her pathway a little clearer, Destiny headed for the shelf.  To her dismay, it was much higher than it had seemed from the doorway.  She did, however, have a convenient step readily available.  Boosting herself first off the seat of Queen Isadore’s throne and then off the Queen’s head, she managed to get one hand on the shelf and the other on the sacred (and slightly squishy) banana before dropping back to the floor.  She knew that one day, she would look back with fondness on the experience of stepping on the head of the Queen of Monquista.

“Time to go!” Destiny hollered at Hannah, who was occupied with a swarm of monkeys.  “Hannah?”

“Give me a moment,” the captain replied, looking stressed out.  At that moment, the main door of the throne room burst open, and in swarmed a regiment of palace guards.  “Or not.  A little help here?”

Destiny groaned.  She was a skilled fighter and spellcaster, but monkeys were still pouring in.  Sure, they were squishy, but in this great of numbers, she knew that she and her best friend would soon be overwhelmed.  She raced for the hidden door, barely reaching it before the nobles (who were now carrying both of Their Majesties).  As soon as she was through, she hollered, “Harmony!  I need you!”

The golden trapdoor sprang open; evidently, the buccaneer had been waiting for just those words.  Within seconds, Destiny had a small but capable fighting force behind her, yelling battle cries.  The crew streamed through the hidden door to the throne room and flew into battle with a will; Destiny practically had to scream to be heard over the din of combat.  “Don’t turn this into a huge fight!  Just clear a path for Hannah to escape!”

Clear a path they did.  Destiny found that she had been forced to the back of the group, but she sent a few spells into the throng of apes as Hannah’s crew, led by Harmony, cut a wide swath through the Monquistan guards and nobles, leaving piles of furry cadavers behind.  Still gripping the rather unremarkable sacred banana in one hand, Destiny used the other to hold open the trapdoor as her friends made their escape, Hannah last of all.

The two witchdoctors dropped through the opening and, as one, blasted the lock on the trapdoor to make it harder for the monkeys to give chase.  “You still have the banana?” Hannah checked.

Destiny nodded.  They made no conversation on the way down the stairs, but as soon as they hit the bottom and left the tunnel, she whirled on her friend.  “You idiot!  Why must you insist on getting yourself almost killed?  And you’re as dramatic as a swashbuckler!”

Hannah shrugged, her sunny smile not wavering.  “Guilty as charged.  We made it out, didn’t we?”  She spread her arms wide.

Destiny tried to glare at her, but eventually accepted the hug.  She just couldn’t stay mad at Hannah.  “Now that we have the banana, we should get out of here,” she commented.

Breaking the contact, Hannah nodded.  They boarded the ship, and Destiny began bracing herself for skysickness, but a more pressing issue awaited her: Marissa stood on the deck of the _Bronze Garnet,_ wide awake.  She stood casually enough, her arms crossed, but her expression spoke murder.  Destiny braced herself for the tirade that would surely begin against her, and so was totally unprepared for the Iron Dove to point at Hannah and shriek, “Traitor!”

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by moi, except for a tiny segment in the middle.

Chaos erupted on the deck at the accusation. Most voices were defending Hannah, but there were a couple- Destiny and Harmony- simply trying to calm the din. Marissa, of course, was her own team.

“Enough!” Hannah’s voice finally cut through the cacophony- as her crew fell silent, so too did the others present. Taking a deep breath, she kept her tone even as she addressed the ginger. “What makes you think I’m a traitor?”

Marissa’s glare remained icy as she responded, her words suggesting death would come soon (Hannah really doubted that was the case). “Is it not obvious? Someone attempted to poison me- I can’t think of anyone it would be other than you.”

Nervous glances were cast around the deck as everyone noticed the obvious fallacies in the legend’s thinking- the first was that Hannah had quite possibly shown the least enmity to her, barring Destiny and the Holystone twins, and the second was that Hannah never had a chance to attempt to poison Marissa, even if she had wanted to- only Destiny had. However, no one wanted to call this to attention, with the atmosphere so tense as it was.

“I didn’t try to poison you. I have no ill will against you,” Hannah countered, but even as she spoke the words she knew they were useless. Marissa had convinced herself that Hannah was a traitor- a viewpoint that would remain fixed as long as she didn’t provide concrete evidence to the contrary. Hannah resigned herself- the proof she needed simply didn’t exist.

“Liar,” Marissa hissed, her eyes darting from side to side as her pitch began rising to hysteria. “I know what you really are!”

“Where’s your proof?” Hannah tried, but her voice shook with barely suppressed anger. She knew it was a matter of time before she snapped- and the moment that happened, Marissa would think it all the proof she needed.

The privateer opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, a quiet voice interrupted. “It was me, Marissa. I gave you the sleeping potion- that’s what it was. Remember your coffee?”

All eyes on deck turned to the person who had spoken- Destiny. Her shoulders were slumped, blonde hair covering her face, and her overall stance simply screamed resignation. She held herself tensely, as though expecting to be attacked. Silence gripped those on board the  _ Bronze Garnet. _

After several long moments, Marissa spoke again- but she was still addressing Hannah. “I know this is still your fault. I  _ know  _ Destiny. She would never try to harm me. You put her up to this!”

“No, I didn’t!” Hannah protested, turning to her best friend for affirmation- but to her shock and dismay, the younger blonde chose not to speak. Her shoulders shook ever so slightly- was she crying? If so, she hid it very well.

The Iron Dove took the silence to mean she was right. “See? I knew it.” She stormed belowdecks, leaving most of the occupants of the  _ Bronze Garnet _ stunned, uncertain of what had just happened.

“Destiny?” Hannah inquired.

No reply.

~*~*~*~*~

Hannah, Hazel, Harmony and Haley stood on the deck of the  _ Bronze Garnet,  _ alone- Destiny had long since vanished off somewhere. Hannah didn’t know where and, quite frankly, didn’t care to go looking for her at the moment.

Hazel’s voice dragged each girl out of her personal reverie.  “So… that’s one ingredient down.  What else do we need?”

Hannah pulled out the list they had copied down from the book to make it easier to look at at a moment’s notice.  “Um… I think hair can wait, and we need to find where the spell was cast before we can collect the water.  That leaves the alarm clock.”  Her voice sounded unenthusiastic and monotone even to her own ears, but she made no effort to sound lively.

“Are… are you all right, Hannah?” Harmony asked tentatively.

“I don’t have an alarm clock on the ship,” Hannah continued a little louder, pretending not to hear.  If she didn’t acknowledge that Harmony had spoken, she wouldn’t have to admit the  truth.  “Did anyone happen to bring one?”

Haley and Hazel simply shook their heads.  Hazel opened her mouth to speak, but Harmony cut her off.  “Hannah.”

“I’m guessing you have one at home, Hazel?” Hannah checked, raising her voice even more.

Hannah knew Hazel well enough to be able to tell that her friend was trying not to look smug.  “I made it myself, and you won’t find a better one anywhere in the Spiral.”

“Would you mind donating it?” Hannah asked a little hesitantly, knowing how Hazel could be about her creations sometimes.

“You’re joking, right?  This quest is more important than anything!”  Hannah, Harmony, and Haley stared at her.  “What?  It is!”

Haley knocked on Hazel’s head, a little harder than was strictly polite.  “That  _ is  _ Hazel in there, isn’t it?”

“You shut it.”  Hazel might have been diminutive in stature, but this made her no less intimidating when she was angry.  “I’ll admit, I was kind of an idiot.  I… all right,  _ fine.   _ I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted,” Hannah said, trying to sound normal.

“What’s wrong?”  Harmony sounded seriously concerned.

_ Deep breaths, Hannah.   _ “I guess we should go get that alarm clock.”  She turned and headed up the poop to the helm.  “Cast off!”

Hazel and Haley drifted off their own ways, but Harmony followed Hannah up, standing between her and the wheel and not budging an inch when the witchdoctor tried to push past her.  “Seriously, are you okay?”

“NO, I’M NOT!”  Hannah’s throat felt tight, but she managed to hold back her tears.  Barely.  “Just leave me alone.   _ Please.”   _ The last word came out as little more than a whimper.

Harmony stood there a moment longer, looking helpless, but eventually turned and left Hannah to fly the  _ Bronze Garnet  _ back to Port Regal, alone with her anguish.

~*~*~*~*~

By the time they arrived at Port Regal, Destiny still hadn’t shown herself- Hannah wasn’t sure if she was grateful for or disappointed by the fact. Either way, she tried to shake off her morose mood, with little success. Harmony kept casting her worried glances, and she knew that her distress was plain to everyone else as well. However, none of them asked- which was just fine by her.

While in reality it hadn’t been too long ago, it felt like years since Hannah had been to Port Regal. Her feet dragged along the cobblestone pavements as she followed Hazel, who had taken the lead- naturally, as their destination was the feisty redhead’s house. While she couldn’t quite put her finger on why, something about the area reminded her of Destiny- in the brief search of her memory that she’d dared to do, she couldn’t find anything that connected the younger blonde to the Marleybone-controlled territory.

After what seemed to be both no time at all and an eternity, they arrived at Hazel’s house. However, as the group headed towards the bedroom, a sense of apprehension settled in Hannah’s gut. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong.

As is so common with instinct, her intuition was not wrong. The sight of an eerily familiar figure stopped the group in their tracks- Ash stood waiting for them, a smirk on her pale face as she spun her staff in her hands.

“Hello, there,” the necromancer greeted, and though she was as monotonous as ever, Hannah felt there was the slightest hint of a purr in her voice. “You’re, certainly, determined, I’ll give you, that. But, Hawk’s, wishes, are law.”

_ Hawk?  _ Before Hannah could think about that too much, Ash raised her staff. The group of pirates immediately tensed, preparing for a fight- they didn’t expect the magical instrument to come crashing down onto the alarm clock by the bed.

Hannah felt her hope flickering in time with the shattering sound of the clock- and Hazel seemed completely outraged. However, before anyone could react, Ash touched her hand to her forehead in a mocking, left-handed salute. The despicable chime then announced her departure.

For a moment, there was a silence, which was quickly broken by Harmony.

“I have an alarm clock.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was started by me, but the rest was written by Night.

After what had felt like she was betraying Hannah, Destiny was naturally hesitant to show her face. The group had returned to the main Skull Island after their trip to Port Regal, during which the blonde had made it a point to hide out in the most obscure spots she could possibly find- true to expectation, none of her companions ever found her if she didn’t want to be found.

In the back of her mind, she knew that she was holding up the search- that, despite the tensions that had arisen, she was still an important part of the team. Still, she was reluctant to go back. For three days she remained hidden away, alone except for the warmth that came from her necklace- she had apparently slipped into that state of deep sadness once more. She recalled the last time it had happened was when Hannah had been injured on her behalf, and found it ironic that this time it was because she had, more or less, failed Hannah’s trust in her.

However, while she did not want to, Destiny eventually did return to the group. She found herself unable to meet Hannah’s eyes, and instinctively knew it went the other way too. To her surprise and gratitude, no one commented on her absence, not even Haley — she suspected Harmony had played a part in that. While some people made the mistake of writing the bubbly buccaneer off as stupid, Destiny knew that she was gifted with uncanny interpersonal skills, able to read moods and body language with ease.

Hannah took charge of the situation, as she so often did. “Destiny, we encountered Ash in Port Regal. She slipped a name: Hawk. We figure that’s her mysterious mistress.”

Destiny nodded; it made sense. “Okay, but how does that help us?”

The older blonde bit her lip. “It doesn’t, really.”

Harmony, who had been listening silently while playing with some loose threads on her clothes, interjected. “Actually, I think it does! Sis has an enchanted map of the Spiral- it’s really picky with how it works, but if you speak the common name of a person, it’ll show you anywhere in the Spiral that person has dominion over.” She shrugged. “There’s a few other ways it works, but…” She trailed off.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Haley groused.

~*~*~*~*~

“I don’t recall laying out a welcome mat.”  Valeria sounded mostly bemused but still a little annoyed as the crew of teens swarmed her house once again.

Harmony grinned at her twin.  “I live here, sis, remember?”

Valeria simply rolled her eyes.  “What do you need this time?  And whatever it is,  _ please _ try to keep your enemies out of my library!”

“Not a problem,” Harmony promised, though it wasn’t lost on Destiny that her buccaneer friend didn’t seem quite as certain as her words would imply.  “Anyway, can we use your enchanted map?  If all goes well we won’t even need to take it out of the library.”

Valeria lifted her gaze from the giant tome she was reading to glare at her sister.  “If you must, but I will hold you to that.  With acid if I have to.”

“Sheesh, I get it!”  Harmony threw her hands in the air in an exaggerated gesture of exasperation.  “We’ll be quick, I promise.”  Valeria shrugged and turned her attention back to her book, and Harmony led the way for what felt like the millionth time back into the library.

For once, the scene was peaceful — everything seemed to be in its proper place, and there was no sign of an antagonistic wizard waiting to steal whatever they needed.  Harmony strode confidently to the back of the room, followed closely by Hannah, Haley, and Hazel.  Destiny trailed behind, running her hand along the spines of the books on one of the shelves, though she knew Valeria would be livid if she found out, so as not to have to interact with the group (and especially Hannah) too much.  As a result, she had no idea what was going on when Harmony let out an alarmed squawk.

At the sound, Destiny snapped from her reverie and ran over to where the others were gathered, unintentionally shoving past Hannah to see what had happened.  “Hey!” Hannah protested indignantly, glaring at her.  Destiny pretended not to hear and instead examined the table they were all gathered around.  It was covered with an assortment of neatly arranged maps of the Spiral and various worlds, but her attention was immediately drawn to a short but wide pedestal in the center that was the perfect size for a fairly large map but contained only a scrap of parchment not much bigger than Destiny’s hand if she laid it flat and splayed out her fingers.

Harmony picked up the bit of parchment and examined both sides carefully.  “Sis is going to kill me,” she groaned.

“May I see?”  Destiny held out a hand, and Harmony obligingly yielded the scrap; once she was holding it, she noticed that it glowed faintly.  One side showed a bit of Spiral thread with Valencia and MooShu marked on it, along with several smaller bubbles that Destiny guessed were minor worlds or isolated islands.  On the other side was a note written in thin, spidery handwriting.   _ So you noticed my little slip — well done.  Maybe it’ll help you, maybe it won’t.  I’m feeling generous at the moment, so instead of leaving you guessing, I’ll tell you that this lovely map is now in five pieces, including this one.  The rest are scattered across the island.  To start your search, find the depths of the last link to a world lost in time.  Good luck! _

Destiny stared at the note, aghast.  There was no name signed, but she knew that only Ash would have done such a thing.  Numbly, she passed the note to Hazel to read, and it made its way around until everyone had seen what it had to say.  At last, Hannah broke the stunned silence.  “I’m thinking Valeria doesn’t need to know about this.”

The other four laughed nervously, and Harmony nodded.  “Not until after we find all the pieces, at least.”

“That’s assuming we find the pieces at all,” Haley deadpanned.  “Does anyone have any idea what the “depths of the last link to a world lost in time” are?”

Hazel spoke up.  “Oh, that’s easy!  It has to be the ancient tunnels under the waterfall.”

The others nodded.  It made sense, though it definitely wouldn’t have been the first thing to come to Destiny’s mind.  “How did you think of that so quickly?” she inquired curiously as they headed out of the Holystone house and made for the tunnels.

“It’s because of Holly, actually,” the redhead replied.  “There are a lot of really weak monsters down there, and she always had this thing about ‘beating up on small things,’ as she put it — she claimed it was therapeutic and dragged me along to do it with her, though I could never really relate.”

Destiny laughed.  “She sounds like someone I’d like to meet!”

Hazel’s face darkened once more.  “Yeah, well, we have to find her first.”  That sobered Destiny right up, and the group walked in silence until the roar of falling water became audible.

As the waterfall came into view, Haley groaned.  “Don’t tell me we’re going to have to walk through that.”

Hazel scoffed.  “Of course not!  There’s a gap off to the right; it can be a little tricky to see, but it’s there.”

Haley gave a sarcastic deferential wave to Hazel.  “Lead the way, Captain.”

The diminutive musketeer chose to ignore Haley’s sarcasm and led the way off to the right of the waterfall, where there was indeed a gap that led to a gloomy cavern behind the falls.  The five pirates entered single file and headed for the yawning black gap that was presumably the entrance to the ancient tunnels.  “Wait, hold up,” Harmony suddenly exclaimed, stopping in her tracks and causing Destiny to stumble into her.  “We’re going to need light.”

“Got it.”  Destiny and Hannah spoke in unison, and immediately green light flared up on the ends of two staffs.  The two witchdoctors exchanged a look of surprise.  Hannah looked like she wanted to smile, but Destiny turned away to hide her own expression.  She felt horrible for not defending her friend more when Marissa had gone on her tirade, but at the same time, a part of her wondered if the Iron Dove, crazed though she was, had been right — maybe there had been a better way to keep the erstwhile legend from going on the Monquistan mission, and Hannah had influenced Destiny in the wrong direction.  She tried to shake off the thought, but there in the gloomy green light of two staffs, she couldn’t quite push away her doubts.

For a few steps into the tunnels, the floor was sand, as it had been in the cave behind the waterfall, but the sand soon thinned out and gave way of a crumbling paved stone floor carved with runes.  Hazel had been right about ‘small things;’ near the entrance, they were constantly skirting around crab-like creatures about the size of small dogs (the non-Marleybonian kind) that Destiny remembered were called crawlies.  As they progressed into the depths, they began to encounter undead, especially skeletons and zombies — not the tough kind that Ash had summoned before, but weak creatures with no direction that shambled aimlessly through the dark.  All the while, Destiny swung her staff this way and that, scanning for any sign of the next piece of Valeria’s map.

A drowned zombie staggered into Destiny, its bloated limb flopping disgustingly as it fell on her, forcing her to the ground.  She let out a horrified cry and instinctively stabbed her staff into the undead creature’s overinflated stomach.  Unable to move or speak to cast a spell, she trusted in her raw power, channeling pure hoodoo through her staff and into her massive unintentional assailant.  For a moment, nothing seemed to happen; then the zombie was launched backward off her staff, soaring over to the opposite wall with the force of Destiny’s power and bursting as it hit.  Destiny quickly looked away, as it wasn’t exactly an appetizing sight.

“Well, that was gross,” she declared, then realized that none of the others were paying attention to her; they had all run ahead and were gathered around something on the ground.  Destiny rushed to catch up and rejoined the group right as they all stood.  No one asked if she was okay or what had happened; they were all focused on what was obviously the next piece of the map.

By the light of her staff, Hannah began to read aloud from the scrap.  “ _ Very good.  To find the next piece, think of a source of hope.  Are you thinking of one?” _

“Marissa,” Destiny said immediately.

“Holly,” Haley declared at almost exactly the same moment.

“I’m not finished,” Hannah complained.  Shooting Haley a glare and ignoring Destiny completely, she turned back to the bit of map and continued to read.  “ _ Good.  Now, just know that that source may destroy your hope… for what good does wet paper do anyone?” _

The five stared at each other in confusion.  Hazel furrowed her brow.  “Source of hope… wet paper?  Well, the paper is obviously the map…”  She trailed off, muttering to herself.

“The life fountain!” Harmony burst out suddenly.  “Think about it — drinking the water can heal almost any non-magical injury, and if that’s not a source of hope, I don’t know what is!  Come on, we need to hurry!”  The lively buccaneer spun on her heel and charged back toward the entrance to the caves, leaving the others to scramble after her.

~*~*~*~*~

Destiny regarded the sopping piece of parchment in her hand with some alarm.  It still glowed faintly and was somehow still in one piece, but it seemed ready to fall apart at any moment; she was afraid to flip it over and read whatever sadistic message Ash had written on the back.  “Do you think it’ll still work?” she asked tentatively.

Harmony seemed to consider something.  “May I see your piece, Hannah?”  The green-eyed witchdoctor handed the scrap of parchment over, and Harmony held it next to her own where the two had been severed from each other.  The torn edges flared brightly, and the two pieces melded seamlessly together.  Harmony’s eyes widened, then she smiled.  “I guess it is a  _ magical  _ map.”  She passed the larger piece to Destiny, who held it gingerly next to the soaked piece.  With an even brighter flash, the wet piece joined the others, somehow drying itself in the process.  Destiny released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

With that problem taken care of, Destiny flipped the paper over, quickly found the newest note, and read it aloud.  “ _ My, my, aren’t you persistent?  Have fun with the next piece — I didn’t feel like being cryptic, so I gave it to a new shark friend of mine, a certain Fin Dorsal.  Good luck!” _

Hannah and Haley both turned to look at Hazel.  “Didn’t you get him locked up ages ago?” Hannah asked confusedly.

Hazel nodded distractedly.  “Yeah, before I even met Holly… I guess he must have escaped somehow.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Ash let him go just to be horrible.  He was locked up here in Avery’s Court, so maybe someone around here saw him go by.”

Destiny nodded; it made sense.  As she glanced around the square, searching for someone likely to have seen Fin go by, a tall, lanky boy of about fourteen with messy black hair and a huge gash on his forehead staggered up to the life fountain, scooped out a handful of water, and took a sip.  “Stupid shark,” he growled as his wound closed.

“Why don’t we ask him?” Destiny suggested.

Harmony nodded, but the other three weren’t paying attention.  There was a moment of silence as Hazel, Haley, and Hannah stared at the newcomer; then Hannah finally burst out, “ _ Galen?” _

“The same.”  He took a dramatic bow.  “It’s certainly been a while.”

Harmony pushed her way into the conversation.  “Sorry to interrupt the… reunion, I guess?  Is that what this is?  Anyway, have you seen Fin Dorsal go by recently?”

“Have I  _ seen  _ him?”  The boy — Galen, Destiny remembered — laughed ruefully.  “I was chasing that double-crossing rat of a rabbit One-Eyed Jack when he jumped me.  I think he was headed for the Skull Cave — I know that’s where his favorite hideout is.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a bunny to strangle.”  He turned and ran off again.

“Wait!” Hannah called, but he didn’t seem to hear.  She let out a sigh.  “Oh well.  I guess we can tell him later.”

Carefully not looking at Hannah, Destiny turned to Hazel as the group headed toward Skull Mountain.  “Who was that?”

“Daring Galen Everret, as dramatic as I remember and even more so than his older sister.  He’s also gotten a lot taller since last I saw him.”

“Wait, so is he…?”

“Holly’s younger brother, yes.”  Hazel grinned mischievously and leaned toward Destiny to whisper conspiratorially.  “ _ Between you and me, Hannah used to have a thing for him. _ ”

“Oh.”  Destiny turned away, suddenly annoyed, and the five walked in silence across the rope bridge and up most of Skull Mountain.  The name of the mountain was disturbingly apt — at the top was a formation of white stone that strongly resembled a human skull.  Its mouth yawned open, the entrance to a deep, winding cave that few dared explore.  Among those crazy few: Dashing Destiny Donnely, Sunny Hannah Silver, Tiny Hazel Ashburn, Hopeful Harmony Holystone, and Clever Haley Nightingale.

As they had in the ancient tunnels, Destiny and Hannah lit their staffs and led the way side by side into the yawning cavern.  Destiny risked a glance at her friend to search for signs of forgiveness, but the older girl stared resolutely ahead, her face about as forgiving as a boulder.  Seeing this, Destiny resolved to do the same, turning her face forward and ignoring the stinging behind her eyes.

The tunnel twisted and turned around itself, sloping ever downward, but it never branched, and quite soon the little crew found themselves faced with a huge door that blocked the whole tunnel, a Cutthroat shark emblem carved crudely in its center.  Destiny moved to try and figure out how exactly the door opened, but before she had the chance, it swung inward to admit them.

“Odd,” Hannah muttered.  “How…?”  Her unfinished question was answered almost immediately as a heavily-tattooed shark stepped out from behind the gargantuan door, followed by several cronies.

“I’ve been expecting you,” the lead shark growled, his voice deep and menacing.  “Oh, and look!  An old friend.”  He bowed mockingly to Hazel.

“Fin,” Hazel spat, her tone dripping with contempt and disgust.  “I believe you have something I want.  I beat you before, and I’ve only grown stronger in the years since.  Meanwhile, where have you been?  Oh, that’s right — rotting in a prison cell.”

“That’s what you think.”  Fin seemed to be bluffing — Destiny hoped that wasn’t just wishful thinking.  “You’re not pirates, you’re just a bunch of little girls.  Finish them, boys.”

Hazel let out a shriek of outrage at the insult, and before the shark cronies even had a chance to move, a gunshot echoed throughout the tunnel, dropping the shark immediately behind Fin and leaving three, not including the boss.  “One for each of us!” Harmony declared.

But no.  Destiny thought she had seen Hazel angry in the past — she had no idea.  The minuscule musketeer seemed to have taken the ‘little’ comment extremely personally and was ferociously taking out her anger on Fin’s hulking minions.  In the time that it took everyone to recover from their surprise, she had killed or knocked out every shark except Fin himself, who was beginning to look decidedly nervous.

“Care to repeat that?” Hazel asked sweetly, leveling her weapon at Fin.  The other four followed suit, causing the shark boss to glance nervously between them.  “Now, about that map piece…”

“Take it.”  Fin threw a scrap of paper in their general direction, and Hazel caught it.  “Keeping it from you isn’t worth my life.  But I warn you, this isn’t the last you’ll hear from me!”

“Ooh, I’m terrified.  Look, I’m trembling.”  Sticking her nose in the air in true aristocratic Marleybonian fashion, Hazel turned and headed back up the tunnel, followed closely and contemptuously by the other four.

~*~*~*~*~

Before long, the five emerged from the cavern and found themselves blinking in the sunlight.  “Read the note,” Destiny urged Hazel, letting the light at the end of her staff dim and flicker out.

“All right, hold on a moment.  The map, Harmony?”

“I have it,” Destiny interjected, leaving Hazel looking slightly chagrined.  She held out the partial map made out of three pieces, which was now glowing about as brightly as Destiny’s staff had been in the cavern.  Hazel accepted it and placed the new piece next to it, and with another flash, the piece joined the rest of the map, leaving what Destiny guessed was a not-very-wide scrap of one whole side still missing.  The map glowed even brighter.

Hazel flipped the map and turned it so she could read the latest note.  She began to scowl, and the look grew more and more pronounced as she scanned the paper.  “ _ You’re only missing one piece now — good for you!  But did you really think I was going to let you win this?  I have the last piece of the map with me, and you can take my word that I won’t be coming around Skull Island again.  Oh, and one more thing: that friend who’s been helping you… how is she doing?  Perhaps not as well as you think!” _

“WHAT!” Harmony roared.  “Let me see that!”  She snatched the map from Hazel, and her eyes flitted across the message.  Destiny watched as her friend grew more and more distraught.  “We need to go back!”  Leaving no room for argument, she charged down the mountain, and her friends sprinted behind her, trying to keep up with their enraged companion.  Within minutes they were back in front of the Holystone residence, which looked eerily normal.

Harmony didn’t bother with the doorknob; instead, she lowered one shoulder and crashed straight through the door, causing the frame to splinter and the door itself to slam open.  “Valeria!” she yelled, but received no response.  “VALERIA!”  The silence that followed seemed deafening.  Dropping the map, she tore off into the library to search for her sister.  Destiny, Hannah, Hazel, and Haley stood in the main room in stunned silence.

Moving through the room, Destiny noticed that aside from the obvious, nothing seemed to be missing, broken, or out of place — she’d visited enough to know where most things went.  Just in case, she began opening drawers and cabinets, stopping when she came to Valeria’s chemistry cabinet, where she kept all her perfected acids of varying strengths, in neatly colored, numbered, and labeled vials, of course.  She didn’t like anyone to touch anything, but this was an emergency, so, figuring she could make an exception and apologize later, she flung the cabinet open.

The hole in the neat rows was immediately obvious.  On the top row, where the third bottle from the left should have been, there was only a scrap of paper — regular paper, not enchanted map paper.  Destiny recognized Valeria’s beautiful but indecipherable cursive penmanship and barely stifled a curse.  “Harmony!” she called, knowing that Valeria’s twin was the only person who could read the scholarly swashbuckler’s handwriting.

Harmony emerged from the library.  “What.”  She was beginning to sound defeated.

“What does this say?”  Destiny held out the note that Valeria had left in place of her acid vial.

Harmony accepted the note and examined it intensely.  “She was in a hurry, so this is harder to read than usual…”  After several more minutes of scrutiny, she nodded once, looking even more concerned than before.  “ _ Ash is here.  Said she doesn’t want to hurt me.  Probably lying.  Please hurry. _ ”

“We have to find her!” Destiny exclaimed.

“How can we?” Harmony moaned.  “We don’t even have the whole map!”

Hannah joined them by the cabinet.  Avoiding Destiny’s gaze, she addressed Harmony.  “The map is still glowing, though — it might still work.”

Destiny addressed Harmony in response to Hannah’s comment.  “Please remind Hannah how risky Vadima always says it is to use a defective, incomplete, or experimental magical item.”

Hannah took a deep breath, looking annoyed.  “Harmony, please tell Destiny she sounds like a textbook.  And what choice do we have — how else are we going to find where Hawk is holding Holly and probably Valeria?”

“Okay, stop it!”  Harmony’s head swung between Destiny and Hannah to glare at them both.  “How long are you two going to act like a couple of idiots when my sister’s  _ life  _ might be in danger?  Seriously, just make up and move on!”  In response, the witchdoctors simultaneously crossed their arms and turned away from one another.  Harmony let out an exasperated sigh.

At this point, Haley intervened.  “So are we using the map or not?”

“We are,” the three affirmed in unison, though Destiny still worried about how the incompleteness of the map might affect the enchantment.

Hazel made her way across the room to join the rest of them after picking up the map from where Harmony had abandoned it.  “How does it work?”

Harmony considered.  “If I’m getting this right, you just pass your hand over it and speak the name of the person whose dominion you want to find.  Supposedly you don’t even have to have magic to make it work.”

“Hold on,” Destiny interjected.  “With an incomplete enchantment, it probably should be a magic user who tries.  Think I should try it with someone else, just to be sure?”

“Be my guest.”  Hazel laid the map out on a low table, and Destiny passed her hand over it.

“Kane,” she said, since she knew exactly where the Armada High Commander’s dominion was and would be able to verify that the map worked.  The map’s glow immediately went out except in Valencia and a few islands and bases in other worlds.  Despite the missing piece, it seemed to be perfectly functional, so she instinctively passed her hand over the map once more, causing the glow to spread back out across the map.

With that settled, Destiny waved her hand over the map one more time, this time uttering the name, “Hawk.”  As she spoke, she realized there were probably several people in the Spiral who went by Hawk for one reason or another, but the map seemed to pick up on her intention, for only a tiny spark remained aglow.  Examining the spot more closely, she found that it was an island nearish to Grizzleheim but outside the main Spiral thread and with a minute label next to it that read  _ No Stormgate. _


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by Night, also this is where the gay mentioned in the tags begins properly.

Hannah lay awake on a pile of pillows in Valeria’s library.  After a long afternoon of arguing and coming to no good conclusion about a course of action, she had volunteered for the worst sleeping accommodations (everyone else had a bed or a couch), assuming she’d be too exhausted to care, but the longer she tried to sleep, the more awake she felt.  The way she had acted toward Destiny throughout the day bothered her, but every time she had looked at her friend for an apology or at least acknowledgement, the younger girl had given her the cold shoulder.  Besides, how could she even consider believing Marissa’s accusations against Hannah?  The idea made Hannah want to curl up and cry.

After a few more minutes of this, Hannah simply gave up, pushed off her blankets, and stood, figuring that maybe a walk around Avery’s Court would calm her mind and help her get to sleep.  After a moment’s hesitation, she grabbed her staff, just in case.  She crept through the silent house, careful not to disturb Haley and Destiny, who were sound asleep on the couches.  She winced as the door creaked on its damaged hinges but managed to slip through, reasonably certain that nobody had noticed her leave.

As she stepped outside, a bit of paper fluttered down in front of her to land on the pavement at her feet.  Her curiosity piqued, she bent to pick it up and found that it was yet another note written in Ash’s thin, elegant writing.  She scowled and almost threw it to one side, but her desire to know what it said got the better of her, and she read it.   _ Will I take pity on you?  All right, yes I will.  Your friend is not with me and Hawk.  She has been taught a painful and important lesson about helping our enemies and is now imprisoned on Skull Island, in a cavern beneath an outcropping near the docks.  Help her if you like, though she certainly won’t be helping you anymore. _

“I hate her,” Hannah declared aloud to relieve some of the anger seething within her.  She crumpled up the note in her fist.

“Who, Ash?”  Hannah whirled in surprise to see Destiny standing behind her, blinking sleepily.  “What happened?”  In response, Hannah simply handed her the crumpled note.  Destiny smoothed the paper out and stared blearily at the writing for several minutes before the message seemed to sink in.  “I’ll wake the others.”

“Wait!”

Destiny turned back to glare at her.  “What?  We can’t do nothing!”

Hannah let out a huff.  “That’s my point.  If we wake the others, we’ll end up doing nothing but arguing, and by the time we convince everyone, it might be too late for Valeria!  Who knows what else Ash might do?”

The two had a brief staredown, but in the end, Hannah had her way, and Destiny followed her in the direction of the docks.  Hannah longed to clear the tension that hung between them in the silence, but there wasn’t time — for now, they had to rescue Valeria.  She recalled that on the level of the docks, there was a jut of rock that stuck out from the island that had to be what Ash had been referring to in her note.  She led the way down the stairs and along the boardwalk that would eventually connect to the outcropping for support.

Presently they reached the rock.  It was fairly long and narrow, widening at the end to a roundish shape about ten paces across.  It looked precarious, like it might break away from the main island at any moment, and Hannah realized the boardwalk didn’t actually use the rock for support at all — it simply passed beside it.  Gingerly, she stepped from the pier to the miniature peninsula, followed reluctantly by Destiny.

Hannah had scarcely started searching for some sort of entrance to a prison when a freezing wind knocked both her and Destiny off their feet.  With a loud  _ crack,  _ the wider end of the peninsula snapped from the narrow shaft of stone connecting it to the island and hurtled at high speed out into the skyway, forcing them to cling to the rock face for dear life.  As a result, Hannah didn’t notice the ice until it formed a complete dome around them, closing at the top right as the island began to slow.  With a crackling noise, icicles burst from the dome, pointing inward at the newly created island.  One jabbed Destiny in the elbow, and she leaped away from the icy wall with a startled yelp.  Hannah followed suit as the spikes lengthened an inch or so.

“What’s going on?”  Destiny’s voice sounded higher than usual, and she stared warily at the icy spikes as they stretched another inch.

Hannah examined the spikes, taking deep breaths and trying to stay calm.  “I’m not sure, but it’s just ice — maybe we can blast our way out.”  She drew her staff and cast a quick Mojo Strike spell, figuring that would make for the best direct hit.  She expected her spell to punch straight through and make a hole through which they could escape, but instead, with more loud crackling, the spikes thrust inward, forcing Hannah to stumble back to avoid being impaled.

“Maybe something a little stronger…?” Destiny ventured.

“No!”  Hannah shook her head rapidly.

Destiny glared at her.  “Well, Mojo Strike is fairly weak, and it obviously didn’t work, so maybe what we need is more power.”

“That’s just it.”  Hannah gesticulated helplessly, trying to communicate what she was thinking.  “It’s just ice, and it doesn’t look all that thick — my spell should have at least snapped a few spikes, but instead the spikes grew.  This is definitely some sort of magic, probably meant to trap us in here and keep us from getting to Valeria.”

“If she’s here at all,” Destiny mused.

Hannah gave her companion a sharp look.  “What?”

“Think about it — why would Hawk and Ash send Valeria back to Skull Island and give us a way to find her, but not just send her back to her house?  It makes no sense.”

“Then why…  _ oh.”   _ Hannah’s eyes widened as she realized what had to be going on.  “It’s a trap.  And we fell for it.”

“ _ You  _ fell for it.”

“I seem to recall you wanting to wake the others to follow the note that led us here.”

“Hold on — I wanted to wake the others to figure out if it would be a good idea so this wouldn’t happen!”

“Oh, is that it?  And what if Valeria really had been in danger?”

“Well, she isn’t!”

_ Crrreeeeak.   _ Hannah’s next argument died on her lips as she saw that the spikes had thickened this time as well as lengthened, leaving her and Destiny with less than half of the space they had had before, forcing them close to each other.

“Look,” Hannah finally said after a long, awkward pause.  “We’re stuck here now and we need to find a way out, whoever is to blame.”

“You are,” Destiny insisted quietly — Hannah figured she probably hadn’t meant to voice the thought.  There was barely enough space for the younger girl to turn her back on her friend, but she managed.

Hannah sighed softly, the only outward expression of the inexplicable agony that gripped her heart more strongly than ever now.  “Des, what’s gone wrong between us?” she asked, her voice cracking like the ice that hemmed them in.  Another expansion forced both girls to their knees as the icicles above them neared their heads.

Destiny shifted back around to face Hannah, wincing as a spike jabbed her shoulder.  Her anger from before seemed to be dissolving.  “I… I don’t know.  I just… can you forgive me?”

Hannah was considerably taken aback.  “ _ Forgive  _ you?”

Destiny’s face fell.  “So that’s a no?”  Her blue eyes glistened with tears, and Hannah felt as though someone had stabbed one of the giant icicles that were rapidly encroaching on them into her heart.

“That’s not what I meant!  Just, what is there to forgive?”

“When Marissa was accusing you of being a traitor, and I wouldn’t stick up for you…  I wasn’t sure… but she’s out of her mind, and I know that if you’re one thing, you’re loyal.”  She sniffed.  “And then when I went and hid, and then wouldn’t talk to you… you didn’t seem willing to forgive me, and I didn’t think I deserved it…”  At this point, Destiny completely dissolved into tears.

“Oh, Des…”  Hannah wrapped her arms around her friend, pulling her close against herself.  “I was every bit as bad if not worse, and I have nothing but regret about that.  Call it square?”  She felt Destiny nod, and with the motion, she noticed an odd heat.  “What’s that?”

Destiny pulled away from her, and Hannah felt a chill and strange sense of loss as her friend reached beneath her tunic and pulled out an odd pendant, a roughly cut tangerine stone on a silver chain.  It glowed softly with an inner fire, and Hannah gasped.  Destiny began to explain.  “It was the last thing my parents gave me before they died.  In the years since, it has glowed and literally warmed my heart every time I’ve been upset.  I know it has some sort of magic, but I have no idea where it came from.”

Meanwhile, Hannah was staring at the stone.  “May I hold it?”

Destiny clutched it closer to herself, but then seemed to reconsider and placed the stone in Hannah’s palm.  Holding it like that, Hannah felt the heat much more intensely and felt much more sure of the notion.  “I think this is a Pyrestone!” she exclaimed.

Destiny didn’t react quite as Hannah had hoped.  “A what?”

Hannah sighed, remembering too late that Destiny didn’t have her magical upbringing.  “I always thought they were just a myth, but I guess not.  A Pyrestone is a magical gemstone filled with pure fire magic.  Not only is that insanely rare and valuable, it might be our ticket out of here!”  As if on cue, the ice spikes expanded again, giving the pair no choice but to lie flat on the ground pressed against one another.

“Whoa.”  Destiny took her stone back from Hannah and stared at it as if with new eyes.  “How does it work?”

“Um…”  Hannah hadn’t gotten that far.  “Try just channeling your power through it.”

Destiny gave a tense nod.  Cupping her hands around the Pyrestone, she closed her eyes and seemed to be focusing hard.  Orange light glowed between her fingers, but though a bead of sweat formed on her forehead despite their chilly prison, nothing seemed to be happening.  Finally she opened her eyes and let out a ragged breath.  “I could feel that something was almost happening, but I just couldn’t get it to work fully.  You want to try?”

In response, Hannah took the stone from her best friend and cupped her hands around it the way Destiny had.  She allowed her limited knowledge of pyromancy and her considerable power to bubble up within her, and found that she knew exactly how to channel her magic through the artifact.  Concentrating hard, she gave it her all, redoubling her efforts as she felt the spikes expand again, digging into her back and legs.

Heat flowed from the stone into Hannah herself, but she found she simply didn’t possess enough power to push the heat out and create flame.  Sweat beaded on her forehead, and she began to feel feverish.  “Help me,” she croaked, her throat as dry as burning brush.

Thankfully, Destiny understood.  She placed her hands around Hannah’s, and the latter felt an electric tingle that could have been her friend’s power or something more mysterious flow through her.  The younger witchdoctor added her power to Hannah’s, and together they pushed with all their might.  Hannah resisted the desire to cry out in pain as several spikes broke skin.  She heard Destiny whimper, and that soft expression of pain from her love, more than anything, was enough to push Hannah over the edge.  All at once, a wall of flames exploded outward from the trapped pair, roaring outward, and with a hiss of steam, the dome and all the spikes were gone.

Gasping for breath, the two teens stood shakily, their hands still clasped around the no-longer-warm Pyrestone.  Their tiny former prison seemed to have struck some sort of land — a world or a large island, perhaps.  The whole area was shrouded in gloomy fog, and eerie voices sounded from deep in the mist, crying out disturbingly.  Hannah glanced around nervously.  “What is this place?”

Destiny peered into the fog.  “There’s one way to find out.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I am the mysterious and elusive Night you've been hearing about from Cake and weren't sure existed. Rest assured, I exist, and I wrote this chapter (after taking a break of several months in the middle). Enjoy!

Destiny took a few steps forward, feeling her boots sink into the loamy ground underfoot. The island (or minor world; really, there was no way to tell) they had stumbled across was thick with vegetation, and dense fog hung in the air like a gloomy shroud. Even without the piteous howling in the distance, she would have felt uneasy.

She couldn’t help but notice the almost supernatural aura of the area; in fact, she was certain even someone  _ without  _ her finely tuned ability to detect unnatural influences would pick up on it. As such, it came as no surprise when Hannah commented on the fact.

“Destiny, you can feel the weird atmosphere around here, right?”

Destiny gave a quick nod, her eyes scanning around for some sort of trail to follow, or any direction they could head in at all. “Feels like death. Think the wailing could be spirits?” Her search proved fruitless- the only way ahead seemed through the foreboding haze. She uttered a quick incantation, causing her staff to glow with a bright orange light this time; she figured it would cut through the fog much better than the typical green.

“Almost certainly,” Hannah agreed, and Destiny startled when her best friend unexpectedly placed a hand on her arm. “Are we going through the fog?”

“I don’t think there’s any other way,” the younger girl said hesitantly. Taking a deep breath to try and steel herself, she began to take apprehensive steps forward, Hannah at her side.

The fog licked at her skin like liquid ice, droplets of moisture settling all over her. The light from her staff didn’t pierce it as well as she’d hoped, barely letting the two witchdoctors see a few strides in front of them.

After what felt like an eternity, but must have been fifteen minutes at most, the fog began to thin. A smile flickered across Destiny’s face- finally, they were out!

That hope was quickly dashed when the young blonde felt the ground suddenly, unexpectedly give out beneath her. She yelped in shock, instinctively grabbing for Hannah, but only succeeded in upsetting the other’s balance, causing them both to fall.

Destiny landed with her back to the ground, and she simply lied there for a few moments, taking in gasping, starving breaths, trying to regain the air that had been knocked from her lungs by the impact. As such, Hannah was the first to get to her feet, glancing around curiously. “Where are we?”

Destiny stood, brushing the dirt off her clothes before bending down to pick up her staff from the ground. She shone the light around the area, noticing solid walls of mud and rock rising up all around them. From somewhere, she could hear the trickle of water. “Looks like a cavern of some sort.”

“How do we get out?” A good question, one that Destiny didn’t know the answer to. She knew the walls were too high to scale. Contemplating the question for a moment, she shook her head.

“I don’t know.” She looked around again, this time noticing a small path that seemed to lead out of the cavern. She quickly pointed it out. “That looks like our best bet.”

Hannah glanced over to where she was indicating and nodded.  Sticking close together, the pair headed down the path by the weak luminance of Destiny’s staff.  Destiny noticed that the tunnel walls were covered with writing in many different languages and elaborate pictures.  Certain images caught her eye, such as a large rendition of three masked figures — one half in black, half in white and holding a pair of dice, one in blue with icicles and huge wings, and one clad in black and purple who seemed to have shadows swirling around him.

“Check that out.”  Hannah pointed to the opposite wall, and Destiny turned, swinging her light around to get a better look.  This painting seemed to be of a pair of girls with identical black hair and blue eyes facing an army, their height the only difference between them.  “They both look a lot like Holly.  Strange, huh?”

Destiny nodded.  “This whole place gives me kind of a weird feeling, like we’re seeing something we aren’t meant to know.”  She mentally shook herself.  “The important thing is to get out of here.”  Still, she couldn’t help examining the pictures on the walls as she passed, like the girl with oddly pointed ears holding aloft what seemed to be a purple star, or the young woman with brilliant pink hair poised to leap toward a column that looked like a condensed Spiral thread, filled with stars and multi-colored mist.  The drawings were brightly colored and expertly done, and Destiny couldn’t help but admire their artistry, even as she tried to escape the setting that they decorated.

After what seemed like miles of elaborately decorated tunnel, the passage widened into a small, domed chamber with no writing or pictures on the walls except at the opposite end.  Destiny strode boldly over and found that, unlike the rest of the inscriptions she had seen, these inscriptions were in her own language.  Intrigued, she began to read aloud.  “ _ Many years hence, three siblings will walk this land. The eldest is as strong as the tide, while the youngest is the most in tune with these mysterious grounds. The middle child is their harmony. Each is a master of time and chaos, and a magic unique- so the True Spirits of Light, Darkness, and Magic will take them under their wings. To pass, use these clues to solve the Riddle of the Three Siblings. _ ”  Destiny stopped for breath, and Hannah interjected.

“So like an ancient logic puzzle?”

“I guess.  Let me read the clues.”  Destiny refocused on the wall and continued to read.  “ _ The child of fire is favored of Light.  The mage of balance mingles —” _

“Wait, wait, let me write some of this down.”

“On what, exactly?”

Hannah considered; then a charcoal-black flame flared on the tip of her staff.  “I can use the wall.”  Destiny opened her mouth to continue reading when Hannah interrupted again.  “Do we have options?  And how are we supposed to answer the riddle?”

Destiny frowned, annoyed at herself for not thinking of those issues.  However, the answer soon became clear: to the left of the writing, nine small, square tablets of stone about the size of Destiny’s hand hung on the wall, stuck on by some sort of magic, while to the right was a grid of nine square indentations the size of the tablets.  Tugging experimentally on a tablet, she found that it came off easily in her hand.  She examined it and was somewhat surprised to find that, rather than a work of art like the pictures in the tunnel, it had a simple, familiar image — the doodle of a little green doll that, in Skull Island, represented the class of witchdoctor and the power of hoodoo.  She set it down beside her and quickly removed the others from the wall as well.

Hannah wandered over curiously and picked up a tablet, scrutinizing an image that looked like a rather fanciful line drawing of a set of scales, done in a shiny light orange color.  “If I’m not mistaken, this is the rune of balance magic, or sorcery.”  Sorting through the rest of the tablets, the pair found that along with the images they had already deciphered, one represented pyromancy, one represented necromancy, one symbolized musketeers, and one symbolized buccaneers, but they couldn’t make head nor tail of the last three.

“Is this at all familiar to you?”  Destiny held up a tablet marked with a rune-filled circle.

Hannah stared at it so hard Destiny wondered if it would combust.  “It looks a lot like the magical dueling circle that always seemed to form during wizards’ duels in Krokotopia… wizards… Kroks… desert… balance... magic… oh!  The True Spirit of Magic!”

Destiny glared at the other two tablets.  They were simple and remarkably similar, each decorated with a circle with a spiral formation inside it, though on one the lines were gold and the fill of the inner space was black, while on the other the lines were silver and the fill white.  “Making these the True Spirits of Light and Darkness?” she guessed.

“Makes sense.”  Hannah turned to the puzzle.  “You read, I’ll write.”  With her charcoal flame, she burned words into the wall in three rows and three columns.  After a moment’s hesitation, she added a fourth column, so that the first column had _fire, balance,_ and _death,_ the second had _witchdoctor, musketeer,_ and _buccaneer,_ and the third had _Light, Darkness,_ and _Magic._  The fourth was simply a repeat of the first.

Meanwhile, Destiny turned back to the inscription on the wall and began to read off the clues one at a time to be sure Hannah could mark each.  “ _ The child of fire is favored of Light.”   _ Her friend gave a brief nod and added a thick black line between  _ Light  _ and  _ fire. _

“Ready for the next one?” Destiny checked.  When Hannah nodded, she read the following line.  “ _ The mage of balance mingles not with spirits.”   _ Hannah seemed to consider for a moment, then changed the color of her flame to red and burned a mark between  _ balance  _ and  _ witchdoctor,  _ leaving a red line rather than a black line.  Getting a feel for how her companion was doing things, Destiny continued reading the puzzle.  “ _ Neither the sorcerer nor the chosen of Darkness wields the spear. _ ”  As Hannah added corresponding marks, Destiny read out the final clue.  “ _ Darkness claims not the master of the rifle. _ ”

_ Sssssss.  Sssssss.  Sssssss.   _ For a while, Hannah added lines to her diagram, but she began to look dubious.  Destiny watched apprehensively, pointing out connections when she noticed things Hannah had missed.  The wall was soon covered with black and red lines and cross-outs, but the answer continued to elude them.  Destiny longed to begin a diagram of her own, but a black flame, while useful for writing, provided very little illumination, so she kept her staff lit to allow Hannah to work.

Destiny had begun to sink into an exhausted stupor — she had gotten very little sleep the night before and didn’t know how long it had been anyway — when Hannah’s staff clattered to the floor, followed shortly by Hannah herself.  “It’s pointless.  Whoever created this cave didn’t want anyone getting out.  I don’t know why they’d give hope of escape, only to dash it with an unsolvable riddle…”  Despair and exhaustion battled in her tone.

“Hey.”  Destiny sank to the cavern floor beside her favorite person.  “It’s going to be okay.”  She slipped her arm around Hannah’s shoulders, trying to transfer what little energy and optimism she had to her fellow witchdoctor through touch.  “We made it out of that ice trap, didn’t we?  Here, why don’t you light your staff and let me work at the puzzle for a while?”

Hannah nodded listlessly, and the black flame at the end of her staff flared into a dull green glow.  As Destiny switched her own wand to black flame, she found she had very little light to work with, but she thought she could still make something of it.  She turned to Hannah’s diagram and realized that the older girl’s writing spread across much of the wall with many redos and cross-outs.  Rather than trying to work with one of the failed diagrams, Destiny drew one of her own and quickly marked everything explicitly stated by the clues the puzzle had provided.

A few more connections were immediately obvious — it was clear that the sorcerer and the musketeer were the same, and that the witchdoctor was chosen by Darkness.  She puzzled over the new appearance of her diagram before realizing that if Light connected to fire, it wouldn’t connect to balance or death, and the same went the other way.  Encouraged, she continued in that vein of thinking, making red and black marks on the cavern wall the way Hannah had.  Before long, she had a solution, and she wondered how it could possibly have given her friend so much trouble.  Unthinkingly, she opened her mouth to comment along those lines, but as she turned, she realized Hannah was sound asleep.   
  
All at once, Destiny felt a deep weariness surface in her bones.  She’d been awake for who knew how long, and in that time she’d had to escape from a potential death trap and wander a strange and confusing island for hours.  Sliding down to sit next to Hannah, she closed her eyes and was asleep within minutes.

~*~*~

Destiny blinked open her eyes and was immediately alarmed — all she could see was blackness.   _ Where am I?  What happened?   _ She reached out an arm, searching blindly for her staff, and found something warm and soft instead.  She yelped, as did the person she had found, and an instant later a green blaze flared nearby, temporarily blinding her.

_ Ice trap.  Weird island.  Riddle in a cave.   _ It all came flooding back to her along with her vision, which was mostly occupied by a concerned-looking Hannah.  “You all right, Des?” her friend asked worriedly.

Destiny nodded.  “Just a little disoriented.  I’m fine now.”  By the light of Hannah’s staff, she was able to find and ignite her own, doubling the light in the cavern.  “I think I found the solution to the riddle.”

“Way to go!” Hannah cheered, her voice flooded with relief.  It didn’t take Destiny long to find the diagram she had used to solve the puzzle, and she began reading off the results while her companion inserted the stones into the proper slot.  “So if I’m right, one sibling is the necromancer, the witchdoctor, and Darkness’s chosen, another is—”

“Wait, slow down!”

“Sorry.”  Destiny paused to let Hannah catch up, then continued at a less frantic pace.  “The next sibling is the sorcerer, the musketeer, and the chosen of Magic, making the last sibling the pyromancer, the buccaneer, and the chosen of Light.”  As Hannah finished setting the stones in place, there was a deep rumbling noise.  The writing vanished, replaced by a larger-than-life image of three teenagers: on the left, a tall girl with fiercely curly red hair, a spear in her right hand, and a ball of flame in her left; on the right, a shorter girl with straight black hair and a staff clutched in both hands; and in the middle, a boy of middling height with wavy chestnut-brown hair, a rifle in his hands, and a set of scales at his feet.  An enormous, indistinct figure stood behind each — Light, Darkness, and Magic, Destiny guessed.

The pair scarcely had time to take in the new mural before it split in half, dividing the boy and the entity behind him neatly down the middle.  The two halves of the wall swung out into the passage beyond, leaving a gaping opening that sloped steeply upward.  The moment the gap between the doors was wide enough for a person to pass through, Destiny practically flew forward with Hannah hard on her heels.  After only a minute or so, they found themselves above ground once more, this time deep in a pine forest with wisps of fog clinging to the trees and undergrowth.

Destiny and Hannah slowed to a walk.  A gentle, whispering breeze ruffled their hair and stirred up the fog.  It would have been a lovely, peaceful morning for a walk if they hadn’t been completely lost.  The backs of their hands brushed together, and Destiny self-consciously pulled her hand close to her side.  Hannah gave her an odd look, and it seemed as though she wanted to say something, but she made no comment.  They continued in silence.

The breeze really did sound like whispering voices to Destiny, and as she and Hannah walked wordlessly through the forest, she thought she could begin to make out words.  Shivering with more than just cold, she spoke aloud to drown out the eerie sound.  “This is not to say that I want to be stuck here forever, but at least if we’re stranded, I have a good excuse not to attend my foster parents’ celebration.”

Hannah made a mock startled face, though Destiny thought she could still discern nervousness beneath the mask.  “And so the elusive Des lets slip a detail about her past!  So, tell me, what exactly is this mysterious…  _ celebration? _ ”

“Oh, stop it.”  Destiny nudged Hannah with her shoulder.  “I’ll tell you if you drop the drama — you’re not turning into a swashbuckler, are you?”

Hannah rolled her eyes.  “I’m not  _ that  _ far gone.”

They shared a tentative laugh, but their mirth died quickly as a lonely wail echoed through the trees.  “What do you think that was?” Destiny asked Hannah nervously.

Hannah ignored the question, and Destiny couldn’t blame her.  “You were telling me about your parents’ celebration?”

“Yes.  Well, my foster parents, technically, but they’re like real parents to me.  Anyway, I lived with them from the time my actual parents died when I was nine up until I came to Skull Island to learn piracy, and every year on April eighth they’d throw this weird party.  It was like a birthday party with cake and streamers and stuff, but it wasn’t anyone’s birthday, and everyone always seemed kind of depressed.  I don’t like to disappoint my parents, but I never enjoyed that party.”

“That is… odd,” Hannah agreed.  “And you never found out what it was for?”

“ _ Where are you?”   _ The whisper was soft but remarkably clear, and sounded like a small child.  “ _ Mother, it’s so cold… and I’m so scared…” _

“ _ You’re not the only one, _ ” Destiny murmured under her breath, taking Hannah’s hand for the comfort of her friend’s solid presence.  They picked up their pace, crashing frantically through the trees, not daring to let go of one another even though their connected hands often got in the way.

“ _ Wait, don’t go!”   _ It seemed the whisperer knew they were there.  “ _ Have you seen my mother?” _

“ _ A ghost, do you think? _ ” Hannah whispered to Destiny.

_ “Probably, _ ” Destiny affirmed.  “ _ The question is, do we try to talk to her or run while we still can? _ ”

“ _ Have you seen my mother? _ ” the whisperer repeated, sounding more forlorn — there was a bit of howl to her voice.  “ _ She’s a tall, pretty dog in a fancy dress, and her name is Lady Caroline.” _

Destiny stopped in her tracks.  “Did you say Lady Caroline?” she called.

“You know her?”  The ghostly child no longer whispered but spoke in a clear, sweet voice.

“Yes.”  Destiny tried to keep her voice from shaking.  “Lady Caroline is my foster mother.”

Hannah looked dumbstruck as a pup no older than seven or so emerged from the trees.  She had pointed ears and long, fluffy white fur, and she wore a light purple pinafore.  She was also, like any ghost, slightly transparent and glowing faintly blue.  “Did you say she’s your foster mother?”

Destiny could only nod.  The pup looked like a small version of her mother, poised and elegant, but her slight trembling betrayed her fear.  “Who are you?”

“I’m Arabella.  I thought I was Lady Caroline’s only daughter, but I guess that’s not true anymore.”

“How come I’ve never heard of you?”

The pup sighed, and a small whimper escaped her.  “Poor Mother and Father — they probably think it’s their fault.  They were away on a visit, and I got really sick while I was staying with some of their friends.  I died before they could make it back.  That was maybe… um… time is hard here…”

Destiny did a quick calculation in her head.  “Was it maybe about seven years ago?”

Arabella stared at her, her black eyes bright with amazement.  “How did you know that?”

“I figured you were about seven when you died, and the cake would have had fourteen candles on it this year.”  She was, of course, referring to the party, which she realized now could only be a celebration of the late Arabella’s birthday.

Hannah found her voice.  “So this is… your sister?  Sort of?”

Teen and pup stared at each other for a long moment.  Instead of saying anything, Arabella surged forward to give Destiny a hug but, being insubstantial, passed right through her.  Looking a little embarrassed, she drifted backward through Destiny to look her in the eye once again.  “Since you’re my sister now, do you think maybe… um… would you maybe stay here?  With me?  I can’t leave, and I’m so alone here… Well, there are the other spirits, but they don’t talk to me much.”

Destiny fought to control her emotions.  She’d known the sweet, charming pup for five minutes but already felt a sisterly bond with her — certainly closer to her than she’d ever felt toward her former foster sister Ivy.  On the other hand, she couldn’t ask Hannah to give up her quest and stay with her, and she had reached a point where life without Hannah was too painful even to think about.  With a heavy heart, she gave her reply:  “I can’t.  I’m sorry, but I can’t leave all the living that I know and love without telling anyone.”

Arabella’s face fell, and she let out a mournful little howl.  As she began to drift back toward the trees, Hannah spoke up.  “What if she came with us?”

The miserable pup wailed louder.  “I can’t!  I’m stuck on this island!”

Hannah twisted her staff back and forth in her hands thoughtfully.  “Des and I are witchdoctors, so we have some power over spirits — there’s got to be a spell that will let you leave the island if we can find our way to the shore.”

Arabella sniffled.  “Really?”

“Really.”  Hannah’s leaf-green eyes shone with earnestness, and Destiny’s heart melted a little.

“Do you know the way to the edge of the island?” Destiny asked her sister.

Arabella nodded, smiling through her ghostly tears.  “I’ll take you there,” she promised.

The little pup seemed to get over her mournfulness surprisingly quickly, and she chattered as she led the witchdoctors in a new direction through the woods.  Her liveliness and the fact that they now had a guide made Destiny feel almost cheerful, and she noticed Hannah beginning to relax as well.

As they progressed, both the fog and the trees began to clear, allowing sunlight to filter through and form dappled patterns on the forest floor.  At one point, Arabella stopped and turned back to face her pirate companions.  “Do you mind working with another spirit?  Captain Breckon isn’t exactly friendly, but he’s my countryman and we’ve talked a few times, and he might be able to get us out of here if your spell works.”

Destiny and Hannah exchanged glances, then nodded in unison.  “What sort of dog is he?” Destiny inquired.

Arabella laughed.  “He’s a cat, silly!  He’s a pirate like you two, so I’m sure you’ll get along great!”

Destiny found herself wishing she hadn’t agreed to ask for his help, but if he could get them off the island, she couldn’t back down now.   _ “Be on guard,”  _ she whispered to Hannah.   _ “Cats are notoriously untrustworthy, and you know pirates.” _

Hannah nodded tersely.  With that settled, the group continued, reaching the shore within minutes.  “Captain Breckon!” Arabella called.  “I want to talk to you!”

With a puff of pale smoke, the ghost of a fluffy, scruffy ginger tomcat appeared, brandishing a short, curved sword.  He snarled angrily.  “What are you about, bringin’ strangers to my beach — and livin’ humans, no less!”

_ “He’s always like this,”  _ Arabella whispered, then raised her voice to speak to the captain.  “Relax, Breckon.  These two could be our ticket out of here!”

The cat stalked toward the trio, and Destiny gave an involuntary shudder, grabbing Hannah’s hand for comfort as the rough-looking feline examined the pair of them.  Hannah gave her hand a squeeze and looked Captain Breckon in the eye to address him.  “My friend and I are witchdoctors, with the power to ensure that you can leave this island if you’re willing to help us.  Be warned, though — try anything funny, and either of us could single-handedly blast you into oblivion.  You don’t want to face us together.”

Captain Breckon sneered.  “Witchdoctors, eh?  Hmph.  I suppose I might be persuaded to help if it means gettin’ off this rock.  My ship drifted and landed here after I died, so if I could leave, I could sail you back to wherever you’re from.”

Hannah considered him.  “Would you consent to a spirit binding?  I can cast the spell without your consent, but permission makes it easier?”

The cat’s eyes narrowed.  “A what now?”

Destiny jumped in to explain.  “A witchdoctor can bind a spirit to an object so he or she can’t stray far from it.  Most witchdoctors bind spirits to their staffs, but we’d bind you and Arabella to your ship.”

“Hmph.  Okay.”

Arabella bounced up and down excitedly.  “What do we need to do?”

“Where is your ship, Captain Breckon?” Hannah interrupted.

“Just this way, miss.”  The captain seemed, if not exactly friendly, at least less hostile as he led them down the shore and past a stand of trees to reveal where a rather beat-up Marleybonian ship floated.  It was miraculous that it hadn’t drifted away, since it didn’t seem to be anchored or tied to anything.  The only thing connecting it to the shore was its gangplank, which stretched from the ground to the gunwale, lying slightly askew.  The two ghosts vanished in twin puffs of pale smoke, reappearing on the ship’s deck; Destiny and Hannah were forced to walk up the unstable gangplank.

Once all four stood on the deck, Hannah turned to consult with Destiny.  “Would you like to cast the spirit binding on Arabella, and I’ll take care of Captain Breckon?”

Destiny nodded slowly.  “Once we get back to the others, do we just leave these two with the ship?”

“I think so,” Hannah said.  “They can sail back to Marleybone, say their goodbyes, and then move on to the spirit world.”

Destiny fidgeted uncomfortably.  “What if Captain Breckon hurts Arabella?”

“I thought of that.  I’m going to include a bit in his binding that will ensure he can’t even try to work mischief.”

“You can do that?”

“Spirit bindings have a lot of uses.  I was always interested in them, so Vadima taught me a lot.”

Destiny gave no reply, wishing she’d paid better attention to Vadima’s lessons on spirit bindings.  The magical pair turned to their ghostly companions.  “Arabella, will you consent to have a spirit binding placed on you?” Destiny asked formally.

“Of course!”  The little pup seemed eager.

In unison, Destiny and Hannah began the spell chant, a simple melody with lots of long, low tones.  Each girl pointed first at her spirit target, then at the ship, then at the spirit again.  After Destiny finished and the spell began to activate, Hannah kept chanting, adding a part that Destiny had never heard before — presumably the part that would bind the captain’s actions.  Red light glowed around Destiny’s staff, Arabella, and the ship, flaring up before disappearing.  Moments later, the same thing happened as Hannah’s spirit binding took effect.

Captain Breckon took a deep breath.  “Oh, that’s nice.  Shall we set sail?”

Nobody argued.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I am the mysterious and elusive Night you've been hearing about from Cake and weren't sure existed. Rest assured, I exist, and I wrote this chapter (after taking a break of several months in the middle). Enjoy!

To say Hannah was completely comfortable on Captain Breckon’s ship would be a lie. The creaky, half-rotted deck set her nerves on edge, and she worried the vessel would simply collapse beneath her. She longed for the stability of the  _ Bronze Garnet,  _ but her ship’s bottle had been left at the Holystone residence.

Relief swept over the blonde as the rickety ghost ship pulled into the Skull Island docks. Destiny emerged from the cabin, looking as pale as a ghost herself. Hannah couldn’t blame her; even she had been starting to feel a little ill.

“Here ye go,” Captain Breckon spoke, startling her out of her thoughts. “Pleasure having ye on board. Now if ye and yer friend could scram, that’d be mighty appreciated. I gotta take meself and this pup back to Marleybone.”

“Thank you,” Hannah replied, and although she didn’t like the captain’s attitude, she meant it. He grunted in acknowledgment, apparently impatient for them to leave.

The pair of witchdoctors were more than happy to oblige. They watched as the ship cast off, preparing to sail home.

“I can’t say I care for the captain,” Destiny commented, “but I hope Arabella makes it safely.” Hannah agreed.

“Hannah? Destiny?” A familiar accent grabbed their attention. Turning, they were greeted by a profoundly annoyed-looking Hazel. “Where have you been? We’ve been looking all over for you; we were worried sick!”

The two blondes exchanged uncomfortable glances, uncertain of where or even  _ whether _ to begin the story. Finally, Hannah came to a decision. She took a deep breath.

“I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to go for a walk,” she began. “I discovered a note in Ash’s handwriting. It claimed to know where Valeria was being kept.”

That caught Hazel’s attention. “Well, what did it say?” she urged.

Destiny picked that moment to chime in. “It said she was being held in a cave by the docks. I happened to wake up and find Hannah, so we went to check it out.”

A memory of their icy cage flashed into Hannah’s mind. “It was a trap. We were caught in a cage of ice spikes. Luckily for us, Destiny happened to possess an ancient pyromancy relic that got us out.”

Hazel gave a low whistle.  “Some luck.”

The younger witchdoctor nodded, continuing. “During this, the island broke off and floated off to stars know where. We got lost on a big, foggy island. And then we fell down a hole.”

Both Hannah and Hazel were surprised by the abruptness of the last statement, but Hannah quickly settled back into her rhythm. “We were in a weird cavern with a bunch of odd paintings. We found a riddle, and we had to solve it to get out.”

“Even after solving it, we were lost.” Destiny took up the story as naturally as though it had been scripted. “Then we found the ghost of a young pup named Arabella. She turned out to be my foster parents’ daughter.”

“So she was your… sister?” Hazel checked, looking incredulous.

Destiny nodded as Hannah continued the tale.  “Arabella led us to the ghost of a cat named Captain Breckon.  He agreed to bring us home if we freed him from the island. That’s about it.”

Hazel shook her head. “You two are reckless enough to pass for swashbucklers. Let’s head back.”

The welcomes from Haley and Harmony were polar opposites. Haley fixed them with icy glares, demanding to know what had happened, while Harmony tackled them both in bone-crushing hugs.

“Gck… Harmony, you’re crushing me,” Hannah gasped. The buccaneer swiftly released them both from her hold, apologizing profusely.

“So, what happened?” Haley repeated icily. The pair of witchdoctors looked at each other, neither wanting to have to explain for a second time. Thankfully, Hazel decided to be their saving grace, retelling the story more or less verbatim. Hannah suspected it was more for Harmony’s benefit than Haley’s.

“So I think it’s clear Valeria is being held on Hawk’s island.” Hannah jumped as Marissa spoke; she hadn’t registered her presence until that moment. Looking over, she noticed that the legend’s blue eyes were sharp and focused. “Maybe you could create a Windstone there.”

“How?” Hannah pressed. To her dismay, the Iron Dove was already fading back into her hazy delirium.

Silence descended upon the room like a thick blanket. Hannah’s brain was churning, trying to produce a way for them to acquire a unique Windstone.

“Hey, Madame Vadima basically knows all things magical, right?” Harmony piped up. “Why don’t we ask her?”

_ Of course!  _ Hannah felt unbelievably stupid. Her trainer was well versed in anything magical, and Windstones were most certainly magical.

“We should hurry,” Hazel stated. “After all, we have no idea of Valeria’s condition.”

“Why are we so worried about her?” Haley grumbled. “Shouldn’t we focus on Holly?”

Dead silence.

Hannah cleared her throat softly.  This proved to be a mistake, as all the eyes in the room except Marissa’s immediately focused on her.  “ _ Two  _ of our friends are imprisoned on Hawk’s island.  To me, that’s unacceptable.  So instead of wasting time arguing about who’s more important, let’s get moving and rescue them.”  She fixed each of her friends with an intense stare before walking out of the house.  The others followed wordlessly, and they made their way to Vadima’s sanctum.

Thankfully, the ancient witchdoctor was actually there for once.  She beckoned the group to come closer with a single crooked finger.  Hannah and Destiny walked straight up to her, but Hannah noticed the rest of the group hanging back as though nervous.  She couldn’t blame them; greenish smoke hung thick in the cave, making the atmosphere even more eerie than its usual creepy ambience.

“Welcome, children,” Vadima purred.  “You come to me with burning question, yes?”  All the teenage pirates started talking at once, and the witchdoctor trainer held up a mottled hand to silence them.  “The more voices speak, the less can be heard.”

Hannah apologized sheepishly and began to explain their situation, but Hazel cut across her.  “We need to make a Windstone.”

Vadima hummed deep in her throat, a slightly unnerving sound.  “Windstones are enchanted ice.  Tiny one must create mold to fill with water.”  Hazel bristled at this.   “Then, you travel through threads of Spiral to outskirts of Aegia.  Do not tread on world itself!  Only by waterfall on gateway island.  Fill mold with water.”  She reached into one of her bell-shaped sleeves and withdrew a scrap of paper, confirming Hannah’s suspicion that her teacher had anticipated their coming.  “This is Windstone enchantment.  It will vaporize once read, so be careful!”

Hannah gingerly accepted the paper, tucking it safely into her pocket.  “Thank you, Madame Vadima,” she said respectfully, and her companions echoed her.

“Do not thank me yet,” Vadima chided.  “You are closer than ever to finding friend, but danger awaits.”  She turned to gaze at Harmony.  “Search for hidden ally.  She will show you true self.”  She waved a hand, clearly dismissing them.

~*~*~

“It’s not here.”  Destiny made no attempt to keep the bewilderment out of her voice.  Hannah leaned over her shoulder but, as always, couldn’t make head nor tail of the map.  She had watched helplessly as her friends had scoured Valeria’s giant map of the Spiral in search of a world called Aegia — to no avail.

“It has to be here!” Harmony insisted, desperation creeping into her tone.

“Maybe the old lady is just crazy,” Haley suggested dryly.

Hannah considered her teacher with a slight smile.  “Madame Vadima is many things, but crazy isn’t one of them.”

“Wait a minute,” said Destiny suddenly, stopping them before an argument could develop.  “Remember that magical map?”

Haley rolled her eyes.  “You mean the one we had to go chasing all over the island for?  Sure, I remember it.”

“What if it can show us Aegia?”  Destiny’s blue eyes sparkled with hope.

“I thought it showed a person’s dominion, not a nonexistent world,” Haley deadpanned.

“Oh, shut up,” Hazel groaned.  “It’s a hope, at least.”

“It should work,” Harmony assured them.  “I think.”

“There’s one way to find out.”  Hannah glanced around, trying to remember where the map had ended up, but Marissa was way ahead of her; the half-crazed privateer emerged from the front room with the map in her hand.  Wordlessly, she placed it on top of the giant map, then subsided into one of the reading chairs.

Destiny waved a hand over the map.  “Aegia.”  As Hannah watched, the map’s light gathered in the center of the map, then rose in a glowing sphere to hover a few inches in the air.  Tendrils of light shot out from the sphere to connect to the threads of Spiral that connected all the worlds together.

The girls could only stare.  The light seemed to pulse, as if moving from the Spiral threads to the hovering ball of light instead of the other way around.  After a long moment, Destiny broke the silence.  “What’s that?”  She pointed to a spot on the map, and Hannah leaned in for a closer look.

On a Spiral thread near the world marked  _ Skull Island,  _ something was moving.  A closer look revealed that it was a tiny but amazingly detailed picture of a ship — a ship Hannah would recognize anywhere: her own.  As she watched, it sailed away from Skull Island and turned, leaving the Spiral thread for the void beyond.  A speech bubble appeared next to it, slowly filling with minuscule words:  _ Take me to the world of Magic. _

“Instructions, maybe?” Hannah suggested tentatively.

Hazel shook her head in amazement.  “Could we be that lucky?”

“There’s one way to find out.”  Harmony’s voice sounded cheery, but Hannah could sense an iron resolve beneath her words.

~*~*~

The vertigo from the Stormgate faded away, revealing the familiar misty, starry atmosphere of the Spiral thread that led to Monquista.  Of course, if all went well, they wouldn’t make it as far as that hated world.

“Do you have the mold ready?” Hannah asked Hazel, who had an annoying habit of standing next to her when she was trying to focus on sailing.

In response, Hazel held up a hollow wax construction in the shape of a Windstone.  “How do we know this will even work?”

“We don’t,” Hannah replied shortly.  “Um, would you mind heading belowdecks?  I don’t know how turbulent this will be, so I’d rather be the only person on deck.”   _ Not to mention, I want someone down there to make sure Destiny’s okay.   _ Hazel seemed to catch the subtext.  She gave Hannah a smirk and headed down the steps, leaving the pilot alone at the wheel.

The Spiral thread suddenly seemed too silent.  Hannah gritted her teeth.   _ No time like the present.   _ She turned her wheel fiercely, swinging the  _ Bronze Garnet  _ hard to starboard.  As the ship left the safety of the mist lane and sailed into open black sky, she shouted, “Take me to the world of Magic!”

For a few seconds, nothing seemed to happen.  Then, all at once, an enormous gust of wind filled the  _ Bronze Garnet _ ’s sails from behind.  Stars and colored mist swirled all around, completely obscuring Hannah’s view as fierce crosswinds buffeted her.  She clung to the wheel, trying desperately to keep herself anchored.  After what felt like hours but was probably only a few minutes, the wind and mist vanished as suddenly as they had appeared, leaving Hannah with a breathtaking view of the strangest Skyway she had ever seen.

For one thing, there were no Windlanes.  A sort of shiny surface that didn’t quite have a color spread in all directions, swirling, paper-thin, and insubstantial.  No creatures, other ships, or even floating rocks patrolled the Skyway, leaving it shockingly clear and open.  In the distance, there was an enormous bank of clouds that Hannah sensed contained the main world of Aegia, where Vadima had forbidden them to travel.  More significantly, off to the  _ Bronze Garnet _ ’s port side was an island no larger than the ship itself, with a waterfall that seemed to fall from the greatest heights of the sky before vanishing into the ground, leaving no trace it had been there.  Hannah steered the ship toward the islet.

As Hannah dropped anchor, her friends and Haley swarmed up from belowdecks.  “That was supremely weird,” Hazel declared.

The moment Destiny reached the deck, she turned and retched over the gunwale.  Hannah put a sympathetic arm around her, and the pair left the ship, followed by Hazel with her Windstone mold.  They had decided that everyone else would stay on board so nobody could get in the way.

They approached the waterfall.  Hazel held the mold under the flow, letting the water fill the Windstone shape.  As soon as she withdrew it, Hannah pulled the scrap of paper Vadima had given her from her pocket.  With her free hand, she pulled her staff from her back.  Destiny placed her hand over Hannah’s on the staff, holding her own staff in her other hand.  Thus situated, Hannah began to read the incantation.

It was written in a language she didn’t recognize.  Each word disappeared from the paper the moment she carefully sounded it out, convincing her that she was doing it right.  As soon as she read the last word, the paper vanished, the waterfall flashed with a silver glow, and the mold in Hazel’s hand exploded.  She yelped, dropping it.  As the feeling of magic subsided to normal levels, Hannah bent to pick it up and found a Windstone like any other, only silver.  She also saw a pair of uncanny silver eyes staring at her.

“Hello,” said an ordinary fox.  Well,  _ ordinary  _ as in it was small and walked on all fours.  The fact that it had rainbow-colored fur, silver eyes, and could talk made it anything but.

“Gack!”  Hannah leaped to her feet, failing to contain her surprise.

The fox laughed, its voice sounding quite human but neither male nor female.  “What business have you in Magic’s world?”

Destiny cocked her head.  “But we haven’t actually set foot on Aegia.”

The fox shook its head.  “Be that as it may, you are still in the world of Aegia.  I repeat my question.”

Hannah held up the Windstone.  “This is why.  Who are you, anyway?”

“I’m a rainbow fox from Aegia,” said the fox innocently, grinning widely as if at some private joke.

“Do you have a name?” Hazel pressed.

“Nope!  Well, yes, actually, but I don’t believe I shall tell it to you.”

Hazel looked like she wanted to kick the creature.  Truth be told, Hannah shared the sentiment.  “Did you need something, or can we be on our way?” Hazel asked irritably.  “We’re kind of in a hurry here.”

“I know,” the fox said cheerily.  “If that’s what you want.  Good luck!  See you later!”  It vanished in a puff of multicolored mist.

“What was that all about?” Hannah murmured, more to herself than anything.

“Not sure, but look!”  Hazel pointed, and Hannah followed her gaze to a Stormgate that had appeared in the Skyway, seemingly out of nowhere.  “I’ll bet anything that’ll lead us to Hawk’s island.”

Destiny let out a soft moan.  “Not another one!”

“Another one,” Hannah confirmed grimly.  Resisting the urge to say something over-dramatic, she led the way back to the ship.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter from me! Warning: ridiculously long (sorry and you're welcome)

_ This is so weird.   _ They knew practically nothing about this person, yet they were following her through the twisting corridors of their enemy’s fortress without a second thought.  Hannah had to admit to herself that part of what was bothering her was letting someone else — especially a complete stranger — take the lead.

“So, where exactly  _ is  _ Glyssa?” Hannah probed.  Amanda didn’t reply, simply picking up the pace.  Hannah sighed and followed suit.

Moments later, Marissa spoke up.  “What’s the Paladin Order?”

“How did you get here?” Hazel wanted to know.

“How did you recognize me?” Harmony demanded.

“Enough!”  Amanda stopped short and turned to face the crowd of teenagers following her.  “I’ll answer any questions you have later, when the Crown Princess is safe.”

“How do we find her, though?” Harmony asked Amanda, clearly in awe of the soldierly woman.

“Simple,” Amanda replied confidently.  “We search the fortress until we find the dungeons, then search the dungeons until we find Her Highness.  We must move quickly.”

“Wait a minute.”  Hannah held up a hand as a thought occurred to her.  “I think we can do this a little more efficiently.  Marissa, you have that iron dove thingy that connects you to Holly, right?”

Marissa nodded slowly, a gleam entering her eyes.  “If I will it, it will lead me straight to her.”

“That doesn’t help us find Valer—ow!”  Harmony was unable to finish her complaint as Haley stomped on her foot.

“Quiet a moment,” Amanda insisted.  She turned to Marissa.  “What did she mean ‘iron dove thingy’?”

In response, Marissa pulled her iron dove token from her pocket.  “I’ve had this as long as I can remember, and I have an instinct for how it works.  It’s connected to another —”   


“I know how it works.”  Amanda had a strange look on her face.  “May I?”

To everyone’s surprise, the privateer handed it over without complaint.  Amanda brought the token close to her face, scrutinizing it carefully from all angles before handing it back to Marissa.  “If there was any doubt in my mind that you’re Aisha Silver’s daughter, it’s gone now.  That is a true Bond Token.”

“A what?”  Marissa seemed perplexed, and Hannah felt much the same.

Amanda seemed to have forgotten her earlier statement about not answering questions.  “A Paladin’s Bond Token,” she repeated.  “Every Paladin, along with the king and queen, has a pair — one they keep for themself, one they give out of loyalty to another person, usually a family member or trusted comrade.  The Bond Tokens connect across vast distances, allowing one holder to find the other and occasionally even communicate.”  She looked Marissa squarely in the eyes.  “The fact that you have a set means you were meant to be a Paladin, a master of the art of the sword and the magic of Life.”

Marissa seemed about to say something, but Hannah cut in; though she was still curious about the world Amanda came from, she was impatient to keep moving.  “That’s great.  So if we find Holly, we gain an ally who just happens to be the person this quest was originally for  _ and _ we find the dungeon, which brings us that much closer to finding Valeria.  Shall we get moving?”  She smiled brightly, fully aware that the expression didn’t reach her eyes.

Amanda blinked at her, opened her mouth to say something, seemed to decide against it, and turned to Marissa.  “You know how to use the Bond Token?”

Marissa didn’t reply.  She had her eyes closed and the iron dove cupped securely in both hands.  It began to glow with the soft green light of life magic, and its wielder began to walk, still with her eyes closed.

_ “Is this safe?”  _ Harmony asked in a whisper.  Amanda gave a brief nod, and the group fell in behind the Iron Dove, guided by the gently glowing metal token.  They ventured through the fortress with more confidence, through twisting halls and down narrow staircases, until they reached a barred iron door that obviously had some sort of enchantment on it.  Before Hannah could even comment, Marissa’s Bond Token flashed brightly, and the door sprang open.

“You have considerable power for one so young,” Amanda commended Marissa.  The Iron Dove seemed not to hear her, continuing down the steep spiral staircase that lay beyond the now wide-open door.  The others followed, spiraling deeper and deeper into the fortress until Hannah felt sure they’d soon reach the bottom of the island and end up in the sky below.

Hannah shivered and realized her teeth were chattering.  Even (or maybe especially) after the mess with Hawk’s ice trap, she was completely unaccustomed to cold, and in the depths of the thaumaturge’s fortress, it was positively freezing.  Every time she exhaled, her breath plumed out in front of her in a puff of white.  Somehow, it hadn’t even occurred to her to dress warmly to infiltrate the castle of ice.  As they continued their lengthy descent, Hannah took Destiny’s hand for comfort and felt a fierce, delicious heat flowing through her — she couldn’t be sure if it was because of her friend’s Pyrestone or simply because of the contact.  Either way, she was glad Destiny was there.

Presently they came to a door much like the one that had barred the top of the staircase, except this one was made of some strange, deep blue metal and looked even more menacing — yet once again, with a flash of light from the Bond Token, the door swung open without incident, and Hannah felt the enchantment that had protected the door dissipate.

Hawk had really gone all-out designing the dungeon’s aesthetic.  The walls were dark stone that glimmered with frost, wickedly sharp icicles hung from the ceiling, and every cell door was made of the same deep blue metal as the first door, with a single, narrow barred window placed high in its center.  The cold was relentless, cutting through the thin protection of Hannah’s jacket despite the extra warmth from Destiny’s Pyrestone.  Alone of the six invaders, Marissa seemed unperturbed by the temperature, striding confidently down the branching, mazelike corridors of the dungeon.

After wandering until Hannah felt completely lost, Marissa halted at a branching four-way intersection.  She turned to face the others, opened her eyes for the first time since she had activated the Bond Token, and spoke as if in a trance.  “Danger lies ahead.  Defeat the monster to free the slave and gain access to the chamber where the second Bond Token lies.”

Everyone stared at the Iron Dove for a moment.  “What was that?” Harmony asked after a stunned pause.

It was not Marissa who answered but Amanda.  “We must be getting close.  Part of the magic of the Bond Token includes warning its holder and any who accompany them of anything that may prevent them from reaching the identical token.”

Nobody had time to react to this statement; by the time Amanda finished speaking, Marissa had turned and continued walking, taking the leftmost corridor.  Her five companions quickly followed, and within a minute of taking the new path, rounded a bend and found themselves faced with a scaly, jewel-encrusted creature.

After a surprised moment, Hannah realized the creature was an Aztecosaur, a member of a proud and elusive species that could occasionally be found in certain parts of Skull Island.  His scales, as expected in a palace like this, were ice blue, and he wore a jeweled belt and carried a long, sharp-looking staff.  He glared at the group as they approached.  “Who dares invade the smoothskin sorceress’s fortress?”

Amanda stepped forward.  “Those who would free the wrongly imprisoned pirate and princess.”

Majestic as the Paladin sounded, the Aztecosaur seemed unimpressed.  He raised his staff into the air, and Hannah barely had time to ready her own staff before a fierce, icy wind blew over the group, forcing them back.  Struggling to hold her ground, Hannah flung a handful of T-shaped wooden totems in a rough circle around herself to cast Ghostwail.  Because of her pathetic form, the spell lacked power, but the wailing spirits proved enough to distract the Aztecosaur from his own spell, and the wind relented.

As Hannah bent to collect her totems, Marissa, Haley, and Harmony rushed the reptilian guardian, slipping and stumbling along a floor that was suddenly slick with ice.  Using his staff equally to stab and cast magic, he repelled their attacks with bursts of ice magic.  Hazel had slightly better luck trying to shoot the Aztecosaur, but she was forced to limit her shots so as not to hurt her allies.  Meanwhile, Destiny sidled close to Hannah to whisper in her ear.   _ “What’s that around his neck? _ ”

Hannah looked and realized Destiny was right: there was a decidedly un-Aztecosaur-looking metal choker around the lizard’s neck, almost like a collar.  At the front hung a short chain with a key connected to it, and the whole thing had a faint but distinct aura of enchantment.   _“Do you think that has anything to do with what Marissa said about freeing the slave?”_ Destiny whispered, her voice tinged with excitement 

“ _I_ _  can’t think of another option. _ ”  Hannah met Destiny’s eyes briefly.   _ “Well spotted.  You’re wonderful.”   _ She raised her voice.  “Try and break his collar!”

While this had been going on, Amanda had been busy drawing in the air with her sword; Hannah turned and saw a green symbol of three simply drawn leaves connected by a spiraling loop at the bottom for a split second before Amanda slashed her sword through it, breaking the symbol and releasing what could only be a Life spell.  Hannah turned eagerly to see what the Paladin had summoned and was not disappointed: an enormous creature with blazing eyes and shaggy brown fur had appeared behind the Aztecosaur, who seemed not to notice.  As she watched, the creature (a Forest Lord, she remembered after racking her brain for a moment) raised a pair of trees from the ground, reaching a hand into the branches of each to summon power.  After a couple of seconds, it withdrew its hands and pounced, pummeling the hapless Aztecosaur repeatedly and leaving him lying dazed on the ground before it and the trees it had grown vanished.

Everyone had forgotten to fight while the Forest Lord did its work, but there was no more need.  Destiny stepped forward and slammed her staff into the collar, causing it to shatter and releasing the key.  As she claimed the unassuming piece of metal, their erstwhile foe regained his senses and stood shakily.  “I thank you, smoothskins.  You have freed me from my servitude.  Take your friend and go in peace.”

The Aztecosaur raised his staff, but Amanda cut in before he could teleport away.  “Wait!  Where is the prisoner known as Valeria?”

The dinosaur chuckled.  “There is no prisoner by that name.  She melted a hole in her cell door and escaped, probably to hide somewhere on the island.  If you’re truly her friends, she will find you.”  He raised his staff and vanished in a swirl of snowflakes, accompanied by the familiar chiming sound of teleportation.

Back in her trancelike state, Marissa took the key from Destiny and inserted it into the lock on the door.  Hannah’s heart pounded as she realized that she’d finally be able to see her friend for the first time since she had disappeared.  She followed Marissa into the cell with no small amount of trepidation.

The cell was small and unadorned, with no windows except the one in the door, a dank, metallic scent hanging in the air, and a bench of bluish-grey stone upon which the illustrious Storm Captain lay comatose.  Even with her signature black cloak wrapped around herself, she shivered in her sleep, and it was evident through the thick material that she was sorely malnourished.  Lank black hair hung in limp tangles, obscuring her face from view.

The Bond Token trance left Marissa, and she collapsed, her eyes rolling back into her head; it seemed the strain had been too much for her in her reduced state.  While Harmony knelt to tend to the Iron Dove, Hannah approached Holly, carefully brushing her hair from her face only to draw back in shock.  Her friend’s face was twisted into an expression of pure agony or despair, and her eyes jumped and shifted with nightmares.  “We need to start the potion, _now,”_ Hannah insisted 

Destiny reached into some deep pocket and pulled out a page that she revealed to be a copy of the instructions from the spell book.  Hannah could have kissed her right then, but she restrained her joy, accepting the paper and looking over it to be sure they had everything they needed.  “Sacred banana, check… alarm clock, check…”  As she murmured to herself, Destiny pulled the ingredients from somewhere inside her coat.  Hannah began to suspect her friend had enchanted it to hold whatever they needed.

“Okay, we need water from the location the spell was cast,” Hannah announced.  “Did anyone see a source of water somewhere on the island?”   
  
“There is the snow,” Amanda pointed out reasonably.

Hannah kicked herself internally.   _ Snow!  How did I not think of that?   _ “Right.  Hazel, would you mind getting that?”   
  
“Not at all!”  The redhead seemed in a better mood than Hannah had seen her since the start of their quest.  She bounded out of the cell, her scarlet ponytail swinging wildly behind her.   
  
“And lastly, hair from someone close to the cursed victim.”  Hannah considered.  “We have several people who fit that condition.  Hazel’s not here, so that leaves me, Marissa…”   
  
“Here.”  Hannah suddenly found herself staring into the cold, pale eyes of her least favorite privateer.  Haley held a lock of her own bleached, wispy hair, her fist clenched around it so tightly a vein stood out in the back of her hand.  “You’re using it.”  Her voice and the harsh expression on her face warned against argument, which Hannah would have ignored as per normal had she not noticed something else in Haley’s eyes, a pleading look that bordered on desperation.   
  
Hannah opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again and simply held out her hand to accept the lock of hair, placing it beside the other ingredients.  “Now all we need is the water from Hazel.”   
  
There was really nothing more to say.  The minutes seemed to stretch into infinity as they waited, tense and freezing, for the musketeer’s return.  Silence hung in the air like a heavy fog, oppressive and near-complete, broken only by the breathing of six people waiting and one sleeping until finally,  _ finally  _ Hazel returned, out of breath and looking pleased with herself.

“I hope you can melt it,” she said, handing Hannah a pan that she recognized as the one Destiny used sometimes to make potions and spells with few ingredients.  It contained a generous heap of snow.   
  
“Did you go back to the ship for this?” Hannah asked.   
  
Hazel nodded.  “I mean, I had to go outside anyway, the ship was right there, and I figured you’d need it.   
“Good thinking,” Hannah approved.  She used a quick burst of power to melt the snow before turning to the spell instructions.  Reading carefully, she set the alarm to go off in twenty-seven minutes, then placed it standing up in the water.  The instructions required the water to be brought to a boil, so to avoid lighting a fire, she had Destiny hold her Pyrestone beneath the pan until the water began to boil.  She then peeled the banana, broke it into five chunks, and dropped them in one at a time, using the alarm clock to crush them.

“This is a weird spell,” Harmony commented.   
  
_ “Shhh,”  _ Hannah, Destiny, and Amanda insisted as one.  Keeping a careful eye on the clock, Hannah spent a very exhausting nineteen minutes using the clock to stir the water-and-banana mixture, musing that this was indeed a weird way to make a potion — but if it worked, she’d gladly follow any crazy instructions to awaken her friend.  Once the nineteen minutes were up, she took the lock of Haley’s hair, tied it into a knot, and placed it in the mixture for one minute and thirteen seconds, chanting the incantation, which she recognized as the Ancient Krokotopian word for “awaken” repeated over and over.  The hair began to glow as she removed it from the potion and placed it across Holly’s brow.  She finished by removing the alarm clock, now also glowing, from the potion and placing it on the floor near the bench the Storm Captain lay on.

“Why is nothing happening?”  Hazel sounded alarmed.

“It will,” Hannah promised.  “At least, it should.  We’ll know when the alarm goes off.”

“How long will that be?”

Hannah checked the clock.  “About a minute and a half.”

A very long minute and a half later, the alarm did not ring.  Instead, a fierce wind smelling strongly of bananas blew through the room, and the alarm clock rose into the air before exploding into pure light, blinding them.  Blinking against the spots in their eyes that appeared as the light vanished and trying to regain their vision, the group failed to notice someone else blinking and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

A low female voice, hoarse from lack of use, captured everyone’s attention.  “This isn’t… another nightmare… is it?”

Hannah whirled to see her formerly cursed friend on her feet, giving the whole group a suspicious look.  “Holly!” she exclaimed, racing toward her friend, relief flooding through her.

Before she had made it two steps, she felt the point of a knife under her chin.  “Not one more word out of you, Nightmare,” Holly said fiercely.  Her eyes were the vibrant blue of sapphires, and at the moment, they looked about as soft and forgiving.

Hannah took a step back.  “We’re not nightmares!” she insisted.

Marissa stood, looking a little wobbly but much better than she had when the trance had fallen.  “Welcome back to the waking world.”

Seeming to finally realize where she was, Holly drew herself up to her full impressive height.  “It’s good to be back.  Now, would someone please explain how I got here?”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by me, except for the start and the end.

Even disheveled and malnourished, the Storm Captain cut an impressive figure.  Surpassing even Harmony in height, she held herself with immeasurable confidence, and her fierce blue eyes scanned the room with the intensity of a bonfire, seeming to miss nothing and making Destiny fidget.  Hannah, obviously undeterred by Holly’s imposing presence, began to tell the story of their quest, but the famous swashbuckler held up a hand.  “One moment.  I know you, Hazel, Haley, and Marissa, but who are your other friends?”   
  
“I’m Harmony Holystone!” the lively buccaneer introduced herself eagerly.

“I’m not so much a friend as an incidental companion on a quest of my own,” Amanda corrected.  “You may call me Amanda.”

Taking a deep breath and gathering her courage, Destiny addressed Holly.  “My name’s Destiny Donnely.”

Holly’s vivid eyes flicked quickly between Destiny and Hannah, and a slow smile crept across her face.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”  She turned to Destiny and smiled for the first time since waking up.  “Destiny, make sure you treat Hannah right.”  She winked, as if she and Destiny shared a secret, and the witchdoctor could only blush and nod.  However, having seen the Storm Captain’s teasing side, she felt much more at ease around her.

Hannah cut in, and Destiny noticed that her friend was also blushing.  “Um, you wanted to hear our story?”

Holly considered.  “It can wait,” she decided.  “I’d rather not spend a minute more than I have to in this nightmarish place.”

“We still have to find Valeria, right?” Turning to look at Marissa, Destiny realized with shock that the Iron Dove seemed to be completely with them for once. Even in her past moments of clarity, something had always felt off. Now, it seemed as though being reunited with her best friend for the first time in however long had truly brought her back. “That’s going to be significantly more difficult than finding Holly was.”

Amanda sighed. “A shame Her Highness never inherited her father’s Bond Token. I suppose all that we can do now is search for her.”

“Well, that Aztecosaur said she escaped the dungeons, right?” Hannah pointed out. “That at least checks one place off the list.”

Hazel seemed on edge. “Yes, but this place is huge. We could be here for hours- no, days- searching.”

“But we have to!” Harmony exclaimed. “No way are we just leaving Sis here!” The buccaneer seemed dead serious, ready to argue with anyone who dared disagree. Only Haley seemed like she was likely to, however, and for once, the irritable privateer did not voice her complaint.

“Harmony’s right,” Destiny agreed. “I’d say we should split up, but in unknown enemy territory, it may be better to traverse as a group.”

“You’re thinking like a privateer,” Marissa approved. It was still a surprise to Destiny to see her friend acting like her old self again. “But, as Hazel pointed out, we still have a lot of ground to search. The earlier we start, the earlier we find her.”

No one voiced any objections, so the group began the search for Valeria. Destiny quickly lost track of time in the massive palace. Each glistening ice wall looked the same, and she could have sworn they’d gone through that corridor twice already.

Eventually, they found a large, circular room. A large chandelier of ice crystals hung from the ceiling, but that seemed to be the only decoration. “We’ve been searching for hours,” Marissa commented. “Let’s take a short break here.”

Harmony voiced disagreement with this suggestion, but she was the only one. Everyone else was grateful for the break, and the brunette was forced to relent.

They had just sat down when a laugh echoed around the cavernous space. It wasn’t an evil laugh, so to speak. In fact, it was quite a beautiful laugh. It was almost like a thousand tiny bells chiming a melody, as sweet as honey.

With a chime and a swirl of snowflakes, a young woman appeared. Light blue curls elegantly fell to her waist, and her skin was as white as the snow beneath their feet. She wore a sparkling white-and-blue gown with thousands of diamonds sewn into the collar. Her staff resembled a scepter more than anything, crafted from fine silver and topped with a large sapphire.

Overall, the whole ensemble was horribly impractical. Nevertheless, Destiny felt her heart skip a beat from her sheer beauty.

“I commend your efforts in getting this far, although it is unfortunate that this place shall be your tomb,” the enchantress chuckled. She seemed genuinely amused, and not in a way that seemed inherently malicious. “I can’t have word of this location getting out to my dear friend Song, after all.”

“Who’s Song?” Hannah demanded. The woman, who Destiny realized must be Hawk, simply smiled.

“You have no need to know who Song is. Your quest was for your friends, am I right?” The group exchanged uncomfortable looks. “No reply? Well, that’s just fine. It’s high time we got to the fun part anyway.” Hawk raised her staff. Immediately, blocks of ice slid over the exits, trapping them in the room. The floor beneath Hawk was also raised by her magic, creating a platform from which the thaumaturge could survey them from.

Instantly, all weapons were pointed at Hawk. Even Marissa reached into her coat to withdraw a set of throwing knives.

Hawk’s only response was to laugh. “I admire your dedication but do you really believe your paltry offense can beat me? Ash!”

With an awful chime, the necromancer appeared in front of them. “Let our magic become one, Ash,” Hawk announced. “As my faithful servant, my power is yours to command!”

Ash bowed low. “Thank you, for your, gracious gift, mistress.”

After that, there was no more time for talking. Along with her usual horde of undead, Ash summoned large ice beetles, colossi and, most terrifying of all, a pair of wyverns. Pandemonium broke out.

It became quickly obvious that the thick of the fray was no place for a witchdoctor. As she retreated to the walls, Destiny almost couldn’t hear the cacophony of battle over her own pounding heartbeat.

An ice beetle charged her. Destiny murmured an ancient word of power, causing the end of her staff to glow with heat. She brought it crashing down on the beetle, reducing it to a thousand tiny fragments of ice.

The battle seemed to drag on for hours. Every time a creature was defeated, Ash would summon five more to take its place. At some point, Hawk had also called up a blizzard. The fierce wind and stinging hail kept Destiny awake despite her exhaustion.

“You’ll never win like that,” a weary but startlingly familiar voice whispered from her left. Turning, she was shocked to see Valeria. Her hair was out of its usual ponytail, falling down her back in matted tangles. Dried blood marked a gash on her forehead, and her arms were badly bruised. Aside from that, she seemed in good health. “Regroup with Hannah.”

“Valeria!” Destiny exclaimed. “How did you-”

“Later,” the scholar interrupted. “For now, just do as I say if you want to live.”

Destiny got the strangest feeling Valeria knew something she didn’t, but she didn’t argue. Glancing around, she spotted Hannah fending off a ghoul. Sprinting over, she brought her staff down on its head, knocking it down and out for the count.

“Thanks,” Hannah said breathlessly, smiling at Destiny.

Destiny opened her mouth to reply, but didn’t get a chance to as footsteps thundered behind her. Turning around, the blonde thought her heart would stop right there.

It was the two wyverns.  Spearlike tails thrashing, spiky manes glistening with frost, they looked more like frozen, serpentine dragons than anything.  Transfixed with horror, Destiny nearly died right then, saved only by Hannah tackling her to one side with barely enough time to avoid the beasts’ freezing breath.

Regaining her footing, Destiny found that the wyverns had backed her and Hannah into a corner with no escape.  Desperately, she mustered as much power as she could and cast Mojo Blast at one of the creatures, but the icy beast batted the orb of crackling magic to one side with contemptuous ease.  Her mouth felt dry.  She could only watch as, in unison, the creatures opened their jaws to blast her and her love into oblivion.

This time, she knew they would not miss.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by Night.

Hannah knew she was done for the moment the wyverns cornered them.  She watched in awe as Destiny attacked, admiring her courage even though she knew it was in vain.   _ Fifteen is too young to die… _ she thought ruefully.   _ Well, if I’m going to die, at least I’ll go out fighting, with Destiny by my side. _

It was at that moment that she became conscious of something she had known for a long time but refused to admit to herself.   _ If I’m ever going to tell her, now is the time _ .  As the wyverns began to exhale and their icy breath began to chill her, Hannah laced her fingers with Destiny’s and began to speak.  “Destiny, I lo--”

The words were torn from her mouth before she could finish.  She felt an intense heat, accompanied by a tingling sensation.  Dimly, as if from a long way away, she felt the wyverns’ breath wash over her, but it seemed to her nothing more than a cool breeze.  Her sight went completely black for a moment; then the world snapped back into its proper order.

_ Something is different,  _ said one corner of her mind.

_ Yes,  _ agreed another part of her mind.   _ What happened? _

_ I think… wait.  Destiny, is that you? _

_ Hannah!?   _ She felt shock, but at the same time, this felt… right.  This felt good.  She was Hannah.  She was also Destiny.  And  _ stars above,  _ was she powerful!

Destinnah, as she decided to call herself, twirled her staff, a wood-and-bone shaft topped with a very familiar Pyrestone.  Taking a step forward, she slashed the staff downward, sending the two very startled wyverns up in flames and laughing aloud at her newfound power.  By instinct, she knew that with the power of two witchdoctors and the Pyrestone, amplified at least tenfold, she held the magic of a true pyromancer.

Rushing into the fray, Destinnah found that not only was her magic amplified, her speed, strength, and senses were as well.  Shouting with the volume of two voices, she cut through masses of undead and ice beasts, turning the tide in her favor.  She saw Hazel, Haley, and the twins rally behind Amanda, who was dealing crippling damage to the undead with her life magic.  With her enhanced hearing, she heard the Paladin murmur, “Never in my lifetime have I witnessed a Soul Fusion with such power as this… truly Alyssa has blessed us.”

Making her way through the rapidly shrinking throng of enemies to try and reach Ash, Destinnah noticed Holly and Marissa standing back-to-back in the midst of a ring of skeletal pirates.  Recalling how difficult the skeletons could be to fight, she began to make her way over, but it turned out the legends had things under control.  As she watched, the two older teens grasped hands, and with a crackling sound, merged into a girl with oddly striped black-and-strawberry-blonde hair with a sword in one hand and a dagger in the other.  It made Destinnah wonder idly what  _ she _ looked like.

With two Soul Fusions, as Amanda had called them, in the fray, it wasn’t long before the only enemy left on the ground was Ash.  The pair met side-by-side to face their foe; Destinnah faintly heard Amanda murmur,  _ “Stay back.  They can handle this.” _

“Ready, um… Hollari?” Destinnah asked, trying to guess Marissa’s and Holly’s Soul Fusion name.

The other girl laughed.  “Call me Legend.”  She raised her mismatched blades.  “Let’s do this… um…”

“Destinnah,” the pyromancer supplied.  With that, Destinnah and Legend rushed Ash in a frenzied, all-out attack.

The beautiful necromancer did not intend to be beaten easily.  As the Soul Fusions approached, she raised her staff, and the room went completely dark and silent.  Destinnah tried to call out to Legend and was alarmed when her words were sucked from her mouth without ever making a sound.  She felt something slash at her in the dark and yelped soundlessly.  Panic clawed at her throat as she realized she would never be able to find her enemies or allies in these conditions.

Fear separated her mind into two momentarily.   _ How can we fight like this!?  _ her Destiny side practically wailed.

_ We can’t.   _ Her Hannah side struggled to remain calm.   _ So if we can’t fight… we’ve got to make it so we can! _

Her Destiny side picked up on the plan immediately, and she snapped back into focus as one person.  Summoning energy from both of her sources as well as the Pyrestone, she raised her staff in the air and summoned a small, condensed ball of white-hot flame around the stone itself.  Despite its brightness, it was barely enough to see by, and it took all of Destinnah’s concentration to maintain, but it was enough -- in the dim light provided by Destinnah’s staff, Legend was able to locate Ash and slash at her with her blades, breaking her concentration and dispelling the oppressive darkness.

It was all Destinnah could do not to shriek in alarm as she saw what had slashed her: an enormous skeletal dragon, even larger than the one that had stomped Haley, accompanied by two others of its kind.  She gulped.  “We’re in trouble.”

“Don’t say that,” Legend protested, grinning and winking as though this was all a game to her.  Knowing Legend’s Holly side as Destinnah’s Hannah side did, she supposed it probably was.  “They’re just piles of bones -- we can take them together!”  Behind Holly’s lighthearted confidence, Destinnah could sense Marissa’s iron resolve.

Destinnah couldn’t be sure whether Legend’s confidence was infectious or Ash’s smug expression had set her off, but whatever the case, she attacked the newest threat with renewed vigor.  Recalling her Hannah side’s life in Krokotopia years ago, she summoned magic from the Pyrestone and drew the symbol of pyromancy, a stylized flame design with a spiraling curl at the bottom, in the air, slashing through the glowing symbol with her staff to release the spell.

With a roar, an honest-to-stars fire dragon appeared before her.  For a moment, Destinnah could only stare -- she hadn’t expected to manage such a powerful spell on her first try.  The dragon roared again, snapping her out of her awed reverie and setting the three skeletal dragons growling hoarsely.

“Nice pet!” Legend called.  “That leaves one enemy dragon for each of us, and whoever finishes first can help the others.”

Destinnah nodded, pointing her staff at the largest skeletal dragon.  Thankfully, her dragon understood, launching itself forward to wrestle with Ash’s creation.  Figuring it could handle itself, Destinnah turned to the skeletal dragon nearest her and attacked.

It should be noted that bone burns.  It should also be noted that when said bone is in the form of a dragon, a mere scorching is not nearly enough to take it down, as Destinnah soon learned, finding herself face-to-face with a very angry and  _ flaming _ dragon skeleton.   _ It has to crumble eventually,  _ she told herself over and over, dodging the beast’s swiping claws and launching spell after spell at it whenever she had a moment to spare.

_ CRUNCH.   _ Destinnah suddenly found herself opponentless as her own dragon landed on top of the dragon she was fighting, extinguishing its flames and crushing its burned, weakened bones into nothingness.  With its last vestige of strength, it blew a tongue of flame into the air before collapsing, utterly spent.  Moments later, it dissolved into a swirl of black ash.

There was no time or reason to mourn -- it had only been a spell, after all.  Legend had just finished off her own dragon, and Ash was seething with unmistakable anger, despite her monotone. “You. Cannot. Defeat me. My mistress’s, power, is too, great, for you, to possibly, comprehend.”

“Hmm, that is true.”  Destinnah’s heart sank as she heard the sweet, silky voice of Hawk.  With a sound of bells and a swirl of snowflakes, the thaumaturge vanished from her platform high above the battle and reappeared beside Ash.  “Perhaps your strength is great enough to match the power of my acolyte, but I am many times her superior.  What’s that?  Do you still think you have a chance?  We shall see.”  She extended her staff, and symbols began forming and shifting on the ground.

Just in time, Destinnah realized what the wizard was trying to do and skipped backward, dragging Legend with her.  An elaborate circle with numerous symbols and a spiral pattern in the middle appeared on the floor.  It had eight smaller circles, just large enough for a person to stand in and move freely without leaving, around its edge, with gaps in two places dividing them into sets of four.  Hawk and Ash occupied two of the small circles on one side, leaving the other side empty; because of this emptiness, the whole ring vanished after a few seconds.

Legend looked understandably confused.  “What was that all about?” she asked.

“That was a magic circle,” Destinnah explained breathlessly, drawing on her Hannah side’s knowledge.  “If we had stayed close enough, we would have been constrained to circles across from the wizards and had to fight in the style of a wizards’ duel, which would render you almost completely powerless.”

Legend gave a brief nod of acknowledgement; there was no time for further conversation.  Already their enemies were almost upon them.

Even when she was trying to kill them, Hawk was unbelievably graceful.  The floor beneath her rose a few feet, and an ice slide appeared in front of her, which she then slid down standing, maintaining perfect balance.  As she approached, her luxurious curls flying dramatically out behind her, she twirled her scepter-like staff in a graceful movement that froze Destinnah’s feet in a block of ice and sent icicles as sharp as daggers flying toward her face.

“No you don’t!”  With lightning-quick reflexes, Legend darted in front of Destinnah and slashed the icy projectiles out of the air with her sword.

“Thanks,” Destinnah gasped, trying to free her feet.  Hawk, obviously unwilling to politely wait until her opponents were ready to continue, tossed her staff high in the air in a steep, graceful arc.  As she caught it, the room filled with a raging hailstorm, which didn’t seem too worrisome until the hailstones grew to the size of the average human head.  Fierce, bitingly cold winds buffeted her this way and that so that even with her enhanced balance, she could barely keep her footing.

If anything, Legend was worse off.  Being a combination of two rather malnourished pirates, she was quite light and made it only a few seconds before being flung into the air -- straight into the midst of a throng of seething wraiths.  Flailing in the air, she swung her blades madly, unable to connect with the undead creatures as they worked their life-draining magic on her.

Sudden realization coursed through Destinnah even as she fought to stay on the ground.  “Legend!  Your life magic!” she called urgently.

“Right!”  Her voice was hoarse, but Legend’s flailing gained purpose as bursts of green light began to flash from her weapons, driving the wraiths back.  These were soon joined by more powerful spells from Amanda, who was focused on protecting their friends but determined to help in any way she could spare.

Destinnah, meanwhile, was determined to calm the storm.  She pointed her staff at the ceiling and shot a stream of fire straight upward.  As she had hoped, the fire exploded in all directions as it hit the ceiling, its ferocious heat evaporating the clouds -- but the wind remained.

“Destinnah!” Legend called weakly.  Destinnah looked up and saw that although the wraiths had been dispelled, her fellow Soul Fusion was pinned halfway up one wall by a gale-force wind.  Struggling against the wind, which seemed to be blowing away from Legend at ground level despite pinning her to the wall above, Destinnah lurched toward where her friend was trapped.

A beautiful, tinkling laugh, as pure as a mountain spring.  “Isn’t this great?  These two will tear themselves apart, and I don’t have to do a thing!”

“Great.  Right,” Destinnah grunted.  Was the wind getting stronger?  As she neared the wall, she held up her staff.  “Grab on!”

The wind pinning Legend to the wall blew the top of Destinnah’s staff straight to Legend, who grabbed hold and hung on for dear life as the pyromancer tugged and heaved on the staff, trying to pull it and the girl clinging to it back to the floor.

At that moment, the wind let up, sending Legend hurtling into Destinnah in a tangle of arms, legs, staff, and sharp things.  Legend’s dagger flew out of her hand and grazed Destinnah’s forehead, leaving a long, shallow gash that caused the pyromancer to gasp in pain.  The two Soul Fusions disentangled themselves from each other and stood just in time for the wind to start back up.

This time, Legend had the presence of mind to grab Destinnah’s hand, using her fellow Soul Fusion as a sort of anchor.  Fighting the wind together, they advanced toward Hawk and Ash, who simply watched in amusement.  “ _ I am so done with these people,”  _ Legend whispered grimly but still with the faintest touch of humor.  Destinnah nodded in agreement.  United in purpose, they advanced on the two wizards -- and as they did so, Destinnah felt a fierce heat and a tingling sensation.

It felt different from before -- more labored, and more tenuous, as if the fusion might shatter at any moment.   _ Legend?  _ Destinnah asked tentatively, realizing in that moment that she felt like her own separate person despite sharing a body with someone else.

_ We should hurry,  _ Legend replied a little tensely.   _ I don’t think this is going to last. _

The world didn’t snap into focus as it had when Destinnah had first fused, but she gained some clarity and found that the wind was no longer affecting her.  She found that in the new form that she shared with Legend, she wielded a long, flaming sword with the Pyrestone set in its pommel.  Gripping the weapon with both hands, she rushed toward Hawk, who stumbled back in shock at the sight of her moving freely despite the wind.

It was all over within seconds.  Several quick slashes with the blade and a knock on the head with the pommel of her sword rendered Hawk unconscious, and a few well-aimed fire spells did the same to Ash.  As her enemies collapsed, the Soul Fusion that was both Destinnah and Legend began to lose focus.  Utterly spent, her purpose fulfilled, she allowed the blackness to claim her vision and sank into blissful unconsciousness.


	16. Chapter 16

Destiny’s hearing recovered first. There was a low murmur of voices all around her, though she couldn’t pick out any exact words.

Her sight returned shortly after. Blearily, she realized she was still in Hawk’s palace, but the frenzied atmosphere of battle had long since faded.

“You’re awake!” a voice cheered from her right. Harmony, she realized after a moment. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I could sleep for an entire ice age,” Destiny answered, before realizing that may not have been the best choice of words. Harmony didn’t seem deterred, though. “Where’s Hannah?”  _ You’ve got it bad, Des. Liking girls is never easy. You know that. _

“With Amanda and Sis,” the buccaneer replied happily. “You can join them if you want. I think they’re talking about Amanda’s world. Glyssa?”

Thanking the older girl, Destiny went to join the trio. “I’ll give you a rainbow Windstone and a map to the Stormgate,” Amanda was saying. “I’ll alert everyone that the Crown Princess is coming home. I apologize if the townspeople decide to hold an impromptu festival in thanks to Alyssa.”

“Alyssa?” Destiny asked as she drew near.

“Our sun goddess,” the paladin answered, turning to her. “Legend says she created Glyssa from the beams of the sun itself.”

Destiny nodded, but her attention was focused elsewhere. Her blue eyes locked with Hannah’s green. A moment of shared understanding passed between them, a silent promise they’d talk about their feelings later.

Hannah then turned and headed towards the docks.  _ We’re going home,  _ Destiny finally realized.  _ We found our friends, and we’re going home. _

With a bright smile on her face, she scrambled after her fellow witchdoctor.

* * *

“Hannah?  Can I talk to you?”

Hannah turned, surprised to find Marissa standing behind her.  “How did you know I’d be up here?” Her little roost at the top of Skull Mountain was quite secluded.

“Destiny told me, but that’s not the point.  I, ah…” Marissa trailed off, took a breath, and tried again.  “I wanted to apologize.”

Hannah wasn’t quite sure how to respond.  “Okay…?”

“I wasn’t exactly in my right mind when I accused you of being a traitor, but I still shouldn’t have done it.  I treated you really unfairly.”

“About that… you seem coherent now.  What changed?”

Marissa graced Hannah with a smile she had never seen before that hinted at the Iron Dove’s intelligence, experience, and humor.  “When I fused with Holly, our souls intermingled, filling in the gaps, so to speak. The gap in mine happened to be my sanity, but with the extra energy from Holly’s soul, that filled in.”

Hannah blinked.  “How do you know all this?”

Marissa half-smirked.  “Maybe I’ll tell you someday.  But, back to the subject at hand, I. really am sorry for being so unfair to you.”

“Meh.”  Hannah shrugged.  “That wasn’t quite you, was it?  Let’s call it even and just try and get a fresh start.”

“Works for me.”  Marissa turned and began to leave, then glanced over her shoulder.  “I’ll let the two of you have some alone time.”

_ Two…? _

* * *

Destiny flushed as Marissa gave her a wink as she passed. She began to wonder how the Iron Dove could possibly know (having heard the tail end of the conversation), but stopped. Marissa probably had far more experience in these matters than she first appeared.

The lingering look of confusion on Hannah’s face quickly cleared up when the younger witchdoctor entered. “Hey, Hannah,” Destiny greeted nervously, fiddling with her ponytail.

“Destiny!  Hello! Hi.”  Hannah clasped her hands in front of her, then dropped them to her sides, fiddling with the hem of her jacket and looking distinctly awkward.

Destiny gave a little cough. “So, uh. I’m here to, yknow, talk. To you. About… stuff.” She couldn’t meet Hannah’s eyes, too awkward and nervous.  _ Great going, Des! _

Hannah blinked, looking about as at ease as Destiny felt.  “Right. Stuff.”

An excruciatingly long pause.

“Stuff as in…?”  Hannah let the question hang in the air.

Destiny coughed again, a little louder this time. “Like, feelings.”  _ Annnnd now you’re just digging your own grave. _

_ “ _ Feelings…”  Hannah took a sudden interest in the ground.  “Just so we’re clear… those feelings do exist, right?  Like, both ways? Or, you know, is it… just me?”

Destiny’s tongue darted out to wet her lips, looking anywhere but at Hannah. “If we’re talking about the thing I think we are, it’s, um, both ways.”

Destiny’s heart practically leaped out of her chest as she felt Hannah’s hand slip into her own.  Glancing up, their eyes met for the first time, Hannah’s bright with hope. “What… what do you think we’re talking about?”

Destiny cleared her throat nervously. “Um… crushes? As in… liking each other… in  _ that _ way.”

“Good.”  Before Destiny knew what was happening, Hannah pulled her into a hug.  “I think… that is to say… that’s exactly what I was talking about.”

Destiny gave a squeak, before nervously returning the hug. “S-So… um…” She faltered, at a loss for words.

“Ahh…”  Hannah seemed as lost as Destiny herself.  “In that case, do you want to be my… my girlfriend?”  She giggled. “I know it sounds a little weird, but maybe?”

Destiny’s cheeks flushed a light pink. “I’d… I’d like that. I didn’t… realize you liked girls, actually. Let alone me.” She tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear.

Hannah pulled back, her hands resting lightly on Destiny’s shoulders.  “News flash: I like girls.” She giggled again. “Well, anyone, really -- girls, guys, other genders, it doesn’t make much of a difference.  I like you the most, though.”

Destiny smiled. “I used to have a crush on Marissa, but… you’re far better than her. Don’t tell her I said that.”

Hannah grinned.  “I think we can keep that between us, assuming she isn’t lurking in the bushes.”

Destiny laughed, bright and clear. “Hey, Marissa? If you’re in the bushes, let us know.” No response

Hannah’s expression grew mischievous as she grabbed Destiny’s hand once again.  “Hey, Des, want to go tell the others? Stars, I want to tell the whole  _ Spiral  _ how lucky I am to be your girlfriend!”

Judging by the sudden heat that rose to her face, Destiny figured she was blushing like an idiot, but she decided she didn’t care.  “Sure!” As she raced down Skull Mountain toward her closest friends both old and new with her girlfriend by her side, Destiny reflected that although her life was crazy, it was about as close to perfect as a life could be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! This chapter has been done for some time but congratulations on procrastination. The next book, Invisible Mask, is already posted!


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